In The End
by smilingsky
Summary: Hanahaki. A disease where the person in the giving end of unrequited love coughs out flowers. It can only be cured if their beloved returns their feelings. Otherwise, flowers slowly fill up their lungs and roots grow out of them, essentially ridding of their right to breathe, much less even live. Rated M just to be safe
1. Prologue

It all started when she realised she was in love.

In love with a guy she knew her whole life.

Gray Fullbuster.

They were childhood friends and grew up on the same street, going to the same kindergarten, elementary, high school and University.

She started to notice everything about him one day.

She started to notice the crinkle in his eyes when he smiled at something. She started to notice when he would tell her that he was fine even though he wasn't after losing a game at Ice Hockey practice. She started to notice how he would play with his pen around his fingers in class. She started to notice how he would sit in a certain manner. She started to notice every single detail about him she didn't before.

Then she realised she was acting weird.

Her heart skipped a beat when he enters the room. Her palms would get clammy. Her stomach would be filled with butterflies. Sometimes all of it happen at the same time and she feels as though she needed to puke from how nervous she felt.

When he speaks, she felt everything around the two of them disappear and only he existed in her eyes.

His lips moved with every word he spoke, and she wondered, how it would feel to kiss them? How soft were his lips?

She would panic when he frowned, thinking he had caught her, but he thought she had gone off to dreamland in the middle of their conversation.

She thanked the gods that he was oblivious about her strange actions towards him, yet she hated the fact that he'd never noticed.

Gray wasn't a playboy. He has had girlfriends before, two perhaps, and they never lasted longer than a few months.

So, to say he's oblivious to such things, would not be too far from the truth.

"Juv. Juv!" Gray snapped his fingers in front of Juvia who was zoning out.

Her eyes blinked quickly and focused on him, seeing the man cocked a brow at her.

"W-what?"

He rolled his eyes, "I said I was going to go, I'm meeting someone for dinner,"

Juvia brought herself back to reality, looking around her dorm where the two of them had been studying together. The table they had been sharing was filled with her stationary taking up half the space while the other half was empty.

She had no recollection as to when he had packed up.

"R-right, I'll see you tomorrow," she said but he was already putting on his shoes the moment she came to her senses.

An inaudible sigh left her mouth and Juvia got up from where she sat, going over to the door where her best friend was prepared to leave. She opened her mouth to say goodbye, but his phone rang, cutting her off. From where she stood, she could see a girl's name flashing across it, _Claire_. A smile graced on Gray's lips immediately, he answered the call with a chuckle that made her stomach flipped.

"I'm coming, just wait a little while more."

While he said that, he barely remembered his best friend looking at him with a sad smile. With his footsteps and voice disappearing down the hallway, Juvia watched the door close in a slow manner, like it was mocking her inability to keep him with her.

She took a step forth to lock the door when out of the blue, her chest tightened, like it had been knocked out of air. She gasped sharply, pressing her palm against the hurting area. The pain persisted and was followed by a coughing fit. Juvia felt her lungs protest in agony but it would not stop.

_It hurts._ She thought.

Her lungs squeezed and screamed in pain while her heart felt as if there were thorns probing through the thick muscles. The agony caused her to drop to the ground, holding herself up with her hands in a hunched position. She found it easier to breathe and it brought relief, albeit little.

She took in a wheezy breath only to choke on it. There was something lodged at the back of her throat and it was forcing its way through. Up or down, she could not tell, she only knew it brought discomfort and was contributing to her suffering.

_It hurts. _The same thought replayed in her head.

It was to the point where she thought she was going to die right there and then. Her roommate, Lisanna, would return to find her dead body on the floor. Her brother was going to blame himself for not looking after her on his own. Her friends are going to mourn-

She did not even realise she was crying out of agony until the droplets splattered on the polished wood beneath her, creating a small puddle of tears.

Another cough escaped her diaphragm as she tried to get rid of whatever was there.

By the next cough, something landed on her tongue. She could feel its roughness in the center but smooth towards the outside. Hurriedly, she spat out the nasty thing in her mouth.

Azure eyes watched in horror at the thing she had ejected out of her system.

A string of saliva connected her to the dark violet flower that sat on the ground. It was the only thing that confirmed that Juvia had indeed coughed out a flower.

And it did not take long for her to realise what was happening. She had read it before somewhere, perhaps it was in a novel she read, or it was a random fact she found on the internet and took note of it because of how interesting it was.

_Hanahaki._ A disease where the person in the giving end of unrequited love coughs out flowers. It can only be cured if their beloved returns their feelings. Otherwise, flowers slowly fill up their lungs and roots grow out of them, essentially ridding of their right to breathe, much less even live.

She begun to cough violently once again, another purple flower left her mouth, only this time, it was coming out petal by petal.

***Author's note***

**05/28/2020 Edited. Happy Reading!**


	2. I: First Meetings

Juvia Lockser had been adopted into the Redfox family at the young age of 5. She barely remembered that day itself as a whole. Her only memories was of Gajeel Redfox, a boy that was two years older than her, had gotten rid of the bullies at the orphanage. They had taken her doll and was teasing her; she had been close to tears before he came.

Without any context, the boy took her by her small wrist, dragging little Juvia—who had teary eyes and was very afraid of him—towards his father and the orphanage lady.

For what reason, she wondered, none of the adults who came to the orphanage ever give Juvia a second look. They were always attracted to the livelier kids, the ones who would bring sunshine not the one who was as gloomy as the rainy weather.

"She's my sister now." The boy demanded, disregarding his father's disapproving look at how he had brought the little girl to him. Metalicana Redfox bent down to her level and observed the frail girl.

Wide-eyed and surprised, Juvia used Gajeel's protective stance to her advantage, hiding behind him. She had no idea what was happening; one moment the orphanage boys were picking on her, the next, this kid dragged her up to a stranger and she was his what now?

The orphanage lady clucked her tongue in a disapproving manner at Juvia who moved away from the boy, "This is..." she paused and flipped through her record book slowly, "Julia Rockser," she misread, the glasses on her nose bridge definitely needed a switch. "Age 5. Though, she barely plays with the other kids and is often by herself in the corner. Maybe you would consider Riley over there-?"

The older Redfox held up a hand, the mere action silenced her immediately. Her hand that was gesturing to the other group of kids fell, almost in a disappointed manner. Ignoring her earlier suggestion, Metalicana had his attention on the two children in front of him.

"I did come today to adopt a child," he begun, "It seems that this little angel with blue hair would fit right in with us."

The big azure eyes of the girl grew wide.

Was she going to be adopted? After all the adults who glanced past her towards the kids that smiled brighter than the sun, was she going to have a family of her own?

"She seems a little shy but, nonetheless, a sweetheart. If you wouldn't mind getting the paperwork," Metalicana trailed off, giving the lady an icy look with the same red eyes Gajeel had. The woman froze and quickly obliged, running off to the office as fast as her legs could carry her.

Before Juvia could even comprehend, some ladies who never played with her in the orphanage packed up whatever little belongings she has. That excludes the clothes given by the orphanage, leaving her with almost nothing but the over-sized off-white dress she wore, and not to forget, the doll of hers. It was the only thing she had other than her birth certificate when her biological parents left her there.

There wasn't any goodbyes exchanged with the orphanage kids or staffs, none of them cared enough and Juvia had no attachments towards any of them.

Metalicana placed her small bag in the car, thinking about what they needed to buy now that he had a new female addition to their humble home. Clothes were the top priority since they already have a room prepared before they came.

"Juvia," she told him as she was lifted into the car seat, but it was a mere whisper thrown to the wind with how timidly she spoke.

Metalicana paused, looking at the girl who was kept her eyes on the doll in her hands, but he knew she was talking to them with the way her blue eyes fidgeted to the both of them.

"What did you say, sweetheart?"

His son scrambled into the seat next to Juvia through the front, "She said her name is Juvia. Are you deaf, old man?"

That earned him the boy a hit on the head.

Not paying attention to the younger Redfox's huff of annoyance, Metalicana placed a gentle hand on Juvia's head. "Well, nice to meet you Juvia, I hope you don't mind joining our small family." He nudged his head in the direction of the boy.

She gave a small shake of her head, biting her little pink lips in an attempt to stop from giggling when Gajeel stuck out his tongue at his father. "Don't be afraid of the big guy, I'll protect you." Gajeel raised a lean arm, imitating how one would show off their biceps.

Metalicana shook his head at his son, "Well, let's get you kids home. Gajeel can introduce you to the family next door after he shows you to Eliana." Despite how quick it disappeared, Juvia caught a glimpse of sadness that slipped through the crack of his smile.

—

"We're home! Come on! We've got to show you to Mom first!" Gajeel yelled excitedly, dragging his newfound sister up the stairs. She barely took in what she would be calling her home.

The house was the size of her orphanage but with better decorated walls. It was huge in comparison to the space she was given. The walls in the hallway upstairs were mint in color, a huge difference from the dull white ones she was forced to look at in the orphanage, it was also decorated with several picture frames. Before Juvia could look at any of them closely, her newly introduced brother brought her towards a white door.

He did not bother to knock when they entered and Juvia gasped at his manners. The orphanage lady would not be happy if she saw this. She waited for someone to scold him for it, but it never came.

_Because it wasn't the orphanage anymore. _

"Here," she heard him say while she trailed behind him, "Mom! Look!"

The room was big enough to fit a Queen's sized bed and the sheets were off-white with pretty flowers embroidered on them. The walls were in a beige-cream shade, a vase of pink daisies sat by the window, giving life to the room. The room had only what it needed in a bedroom, the decorations in the room was sparse except for the one photograph of Metalicana and a woman. The very one who was in bed right now.

Juvia had her attention on the said woman who had blankets over her, and a machine attached to her left arm.

Was she sick? Very sick? Was she in pain?

Her skin was a sickly pale color and when the woman opened her eyes, Juvia could see they were slightly green but mainly grey. The only thing she seemed to have in common with Gajeel was her coal-colored hair. Her hair was straight, however, unlike her brother's frizzy hair.

The sides of her lips pulled into a smile as she tried to move so she could see properly. "Come here darling," she whispered softly, looking at the timid girl hiding behind Gajeel. The latter gave his newly found sister a little push to the front. She walked slowly towards the woman, though unlike in the orphanage where she approached each person with caution, she felt a strange sense of calmness.

Metalicana stayed by the doorframe, his arms crossed while he watched his sick Wife caressed Juvia's head softly. It has always been her wish to have both a son and daughter. But that wish of hers had almost been impossible; three years after Gajeel's birth, she had fallen terribly ill. The aftermath caused a miscarriage which worsened her condition.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Eliana asked in a gentle tone, her eyes swirling with adoration for the small girl.

Juvia felt at ease at her tone, it was nothing like the orphanage adults. "Juvia,"

"Welcome to our family, Juvia." She smiled. "You have very pretty eyes,"

No one told her that before. It was always her hair that people noticed.

"Thank you, your eyes are pretty too," the girl answered softly, meeting Eliana's grey orbs with her blue ones.

The older woman's smile widened and they both chatted for a little while. Gajeel was sitting at the end of the bed and Juvia had joined next to him. They talked about Juvia's favorite colors, favorite food, favorite toy and anything else they could talk about on first meeting. Eliana was looking forward to spending more time with her daughter.

_Her daughter._

Her eyes went towards her son who had been listening to the conversation the whole time, "Gajeel."

The boy immediately went towards her.

"You're a big brother to Juvia now, you have to do your part as an older brother." She coughed but waved her hand off when Metalicana stepped in. Juvia's eyes followed her now-father walked towards them, settling himself on her left so he can help Eliana sit up.

A small sigh escaped his lips while Eliana caressed the girl's head once more before telling her son, "Gajeel, why don't you show Juvia to her room? See if she likes what we chose."

Gajeel did as though, taking Juvia out of the room. As they left, Juvia turned back, looking at Metalicana sitting by the side of the bed, Eliana's hand on his cheek.

Before she could see more, she was pulled away.

—

It was a week after moving in with the Redfox family. Juvia understood from the week she had spent settling in, that Eliana, her adoptive Mother, was very sick. Even so, she still let Juvia stay by her side as she tried to read her stories with Gajeel's help. She couldn't remember the name of the disease Eliana had, but it was bad enough for her to stay bedridden every day.

Despite that, the woman would make the effort to spend time with both her and Gajeel, be it mindless chatting, or attempting to teach them arts and crafts with Metalicana helping out next to them at the small table they added to the room.

As for the issue on her name, Metalicana had sat her down some time ago, telling her that he would let her keep her original family name until she was at an age where she could decide on her own if she would take after his.

Being only a five-year-old, she did not understand why but nodded anyways.

Juvia Lockser, she would scribble onto a piece of scrap paper, the letters widely spaced as she repeatedly wrote them again and again. Her father had said that she would start going to school with her brother.

Metalicana said one of the boys were of the same age as her and that he had an older brother who was in Gajeel's class. They also had an older sister, and he mentioned they might get along well when they meet. She has yet to see the neighbors but the encouragement Metalicana and Eliana gave her to talk to new friends was refreshing. After all, the orphanage, she only ever knew to play on her own.

Just as she picked up her crayon to try writing her name again, her ears perked up at the sound of a car rolling into the driveway next door. As fast as she could with her curious eyes, she scrambled onto the small space at the window. Her blue orbs stared at the silver car pulled up outside the neighbor's house.

"Well, I think Gajeel's friends are back." The older Redfox said, coming down the stairs with a tray of empty dishes.

"They are not my friends." The boy grouched, his arms folded across his chest in what one would assume, menacing. He had been beside Juvia, tinkering with bolts and screws (he made sure to keep them away from Juvia, he knew she wouldn't ingest them but just in case) on an alarm clock.

Climbing up the seats by the window, Juvia saw a woman with dark purple short hair getting out first followed by a girl that seemed a few years older than herself. Right after, two small figures tumbled out of the car. Juvia tilted her head at that.

"Come on, let's go tell Eli that we'll have visitors," Metalicana lifted her up into his arms, gently knocking Gajeel in the head when he mumbled something about the two boys being strippers.

Juvia lifted her little fist, knocking on the ivory door and straining her ear to hear Eliana's reply.

When it sounded something like an acknowledgement, the three went into the room. Metalicana spoke, placing Juvia down on the floor where she moved towards Eliana, almost naturally when she climbed onto the bed next to her. The past week, she had definitely gotten closer with her. "Ur is back, she'll probably come over in a few to visit."

"Well, that's lovely. You'll be able to meet the kids next door and make new friends," she paused with a soft smile, earning her one of Juvia's silly grin.

"It'll be nice for you to have a female friend too." Though she would not say it out loud to Juvia, she knew it'd be best if her daughter had at least one other close female figure in her life. For she knew, she would not be able to see her grow up into a wonderful teenager with how the illness ate away at her every day. Ur would be a great aunt towards her for sure, but someone closer to her age in the future would be good.

Knowing what she was thinking, Metalicana sat down next to her, "We'll prepare some snacks, what do you feel like eating?"

Giving a soft chuckle, Eliana thought of what they could prepare with Metalicana's level of skill in cooking even though she would not be able to enjoy much of it. "Gajeel, what do your friends like to eat?"

The boy rolled his eyes, "Mum, I told you I'm not friends with those losers."

A gasp escaped her mouth and Eliana covered Juvia's small ears, the latter staring in confusion.

"Tali, where did he learn that?" She asked, a disapproving frown on her face and her husband was slightly relieved when he could see some of the feisty energy from her healthy-self seep through her voice.

He gave a shrug, knocking the boy on the head with his knuckle. Gajeel rubbed his head, grumbling something under his breath. "Don't pick up words like that, or at least don't say them in front of your Mother." He looked at Eliana for approval, but she narrowed her eyes at him. "And your Sister," He added and at that, Eliana visibly looked more satisfied with his answer.

She released her hold on Juvia's ears, telling her how much fun it would be when she joins the school with Gajeel.

After that, the man of the house decided to go prepare some food for the kids next door, so they'll at least have something to keep them occupied while their Mother was talking to his wife. It was also to ensure the two boys would stay away from trouble while they were left under their sister's supervision.

It was perhaps an hour later when there was a knock on the door. Juvia perked up from her seat in the kitchen, having watch Metalicana prepared hot chocolate on the stove. He was telling her it was Eliana's recipe and how she spent so much time trying to perfect such a simple recipe a few winters ago. He turned off the burner and poured the piping hot chocolate into the little cups for the children.

This time, there were several knocks rapping on the front door.

"Hi Uncle Metalicana!" A bunch of voices chorused just as he went to welcome the guests with Gajeel in tow. Juvia hopped off the stool in the kitchen, going towards the door where her brother and Father stood, greeting their neighbor.

"Hello kids, come on in."

The first one to enter was a woman with dark purple, short hair. She spotted Juvia who was now hiding behind Gajeel, unsure of what to do in front of strangers.

"So, you really did gain a daughter during our trip, Eliana must've been delighted," she smiled at the girl that was hiding. Her two sons, one with distinct silver hair while one had a head of raven hair, were not paying attention as they bickered over who gets to go through the door first. Their older sister watched in boredom.

"Boys, just get in already." Ultear grumbled.

Lyon was the first one to answer, "Well if Gray wasn't blocking my way, I would've got in already!" He pushed a hand into his brother's face.

"I was first, and you pushed me!" The raven-haired boy rebutted, his own hand smashing right into the other boy's face.

"Lively as ever, I thought they would be tired out by the time you guys came back," Metalicana commented, watching Ur pinched their ears so they could all get inside the house.

"They seem to have endless things to bicker about, however." Ur added, giving a warning look to the two boys.

Intrigued by the new strangers in the house, Juvia moved closer but remained behind Gajeel who wasted no time in covering her. This was his sister and he wasn't going to let these losers bully her.

"Who is that?" The older girl asked, she was taller than the boys but shorter than Ur. Juvia stared at her, piqued that she had the same dark-purple hair as Ur that went past her shoulders.

Gajeel took a protective stance when the boys turned to see. "She's my sister," he answered with pride and his Father almost laughed at how proud he looked. This kid was going to grow up and be overprotective over his daughter.

"Oh, do you mind introducing your sister to us then, Gajeel?" Ur asked with a bit of a teasing note in her voice. The kid has always had a tough exterior even when she spoke to him, now he was acting all protective over his new sibling. It was cute, she thought. She was also interested in the little girl with blue hair.

The younger Redfox hesitated before stepping aside slightly, barely allowing half of Juvia to be seen.

"Her name is Juvia and she is five years old," he told them, arms crossed over his chest, "And I'm her older brother, so I won't let other boys bother her. Boys have cooties."

Now, where did he pick that up from? Was it when Metalicana was saying to Eliana how protective he'll be of their daughter when she's older?

"Stupid! You're a boy too!" Gray pointed a finger at him, earning a tight pinch on his cheek from Ur. He yelped in pain, gripping onto the tender area after his Mother released her hold. She has got quite the temper when it came to her children.

"One more swear word and it's time out," she warned him and Juvia decided that Ur may look friendly, but she can be scary.

"Juvia?" Lyon spoke first and the girl popped her head out from the side, her entire face now in full view. Her azure eyes landed on the boy with silver-hair before trailing off to the one next to him. Gray rubbed his cheek, easing the pain but when he met Juvia's blue orbs, he stopped.

Perhaps they made eye contact for a little too long and Juvia felt something funny in her belly, feeling weird, she hid behind Gajeel once again.

Ur let out a soft chuckle, the girl was so shy that it was cute.

"Ultear, I'll go and see your Aunt Eliana, do help me look after your brothers." Ur glanced at her daughter who nodded obediently, pulling her brothers by the collar so they would stop making Juvia uncomfortable with their staring.

Metalicana led the woman upstairs whilst telling Ultear that they could help themselves to the hot chocolate on the counter as long as they be careful when retrieving the cups.

"Alright," she answered, going straight to the kitchen to get the drinks, after all, she was the eldest kid there.

Left alone without another adult in the room and the eldest gone for a moment, the two boys surrounded Gajeel, trying to get another look at the new addition in the Redfox household.

"Your hair is really pretty," Lyon tells her, almost touching her hair when Gajeel slapped his hands. Lyon yelped in pain, retracting his hand immediately with a sneer towards the latter but stopped when Gajeel gave him an intimidating look.

"Meanie," he pouted, turning away from him.

Ultear entered the room, placing the hot chocolate on the coffee table. They must've been here several times for her to be this comfortable around the house. She lets out a sigh, watching her brothers' curiosity surround the younger girl in the room. "Come on you two, this is not how you make first impressions. Don't just stare at her."

Juvia tilted her head, what was she talking about?

Seeing the older girl approached, Gajeel moved aside, remembering that his Mother said for them to be friends. Though he did not think there was an issue with him being his sister's only friend.

Metalicana once mentioned to him that they will keep other boys away from Juvia because boys only want one thing from her, and he said that Gajeel will only know what that one thing is when he becomes an adult. He made a huge fuss when Metalicana refused and when Eliana learnt of what her husband told her son, she gave Metalicana a hit on his head, telling him it was too early for the two of them to understand that.

Gajeel frowned then, almost annoyed since his parents wouldn't say what it was after telling him something vague.

"Hi, I'm Ultear, nice to meet you," she smiled at Juvia and the latter can't help but have an image of Ur smiling in her head. She held out a hand, waiting for Juvia to shake it.

This much, Juvia did not understand. She never had someone hold out a hand towards her before. The kids at the orphanage never bothered to know her.

A small warm hand grabbed hers and placed it against Ultear's. It belonged to the raven-haired boy who was fighting. "You respond with, 'Nice to meet you too, I'm Juvia,'"

Her eyes widened at him. He must've found her stupid for not knowing such manners. She heard that he too was five years old, the way he acted, it seemed as though he was older than that. "N-nice to meet you too, I'm Juvia," she whispered to Ultear, though her eyes remained on Gray. Her little cheeks grew red and warm, this feeling she has never experienced before. It felt like something was running in her belly, like when she felt hungry, except, she wasn't hungry.

"This is Gray, he is also five years old," Ultear introduced for them, taking a seat on the couch, "And that is Lyon, he is seven years old, the same as Gajeel. They're both my brothers, unfortunately."

"Hey!"

"Hey!"

Before Gajeel could push Lyon away, the latter was already grinning widely at the bluenette, a fist in the air, another over his heart, "That is I, Lyon-sama, I will be the prince to chase away bad guys for you, my princess!"

Ultear fought the urge to slap the back of his head. For a seven-year-old, he was rather popular with the ladies in school. Wherever he learnt his smooth-talking ways, it was a mystery.

Being unfamiliar with the silver-haired boy that was too extravagant for Juvia's liking, the girl moved closer to Gajeel, tugging on his arm.

"I don't need a prince to do that," she said softly, "I have Gajeel."

Lyon stared in disbelief, when he did that in school, the girls would giggle at him. Gray held in a muffled laughter at his brother's expense._ That guy always thought he was so cool, _Gray snickered, _Juvia is good._

"This is why you shouldn't be so-, Ultear, what did you say that day again?" Gray raised his voice, asking his older sister who was already half-finished with her share of chocolate goodness. The ones at the Redfox's was always so good, no matter how much her Mother tried to replicate it, it was not the same rich taste.

"Flirtatious," she responded with a tired sigh, mumbling something under her breath. Taking care of her two adoptive brothers has been nothing but a handful.

Gray smirked even though he had no idea what that word meant, "Flirtatious." He watched his brother break out of his daze, an irritated look taking over his face.

"Shut up-," Lyon started but was cut off quickly when Juvia handed both the brothers a cup each. Her blue locks that reached her shoulder was slightly curled, framing her little porcelain doll-like face perfectly. Up close, she looked really beautiful.

Gray's face flushed a little at how adorable she was to him, but he kept his face poker, "Thanks."

Lyon took the cup, about to spout more nonsense when Gray told him to shut up.

"You'll scare her off!"

"That's not true!"

"Juvia would prefer talking to me than you, Snowflake!"

"Nuh-uh, Squid Ink!"

A giggle broke their little argument. They turned to see the small bluenette smile, both seemingly star-struck. She gave a toothy-grin, "Gajeel, they're funny."

For a moment, it seemed like Lyon was about to faint, as for Gray, his cheeks flushed.

And that was the first meeting of Juvia and Gray.

***Author's Note***

**05/28/2020 Edited. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review/favourite before you go if you'd like 3**

**-Smiles: )**


	3. II: Flower Patterns

***Author's Note***

**Edited and added/removed certain content since it was getting a little inconsistent. But do let me know if there are still mistakes! 3**

*Present Time: Adulthood*

Tossing the last of the flower petals into the trash bin, Juvia slid down the floor against the wall. She leaned her head against her hand in an attempt to comprehend the current situation. Just five minutes ago, she had been coughing out flowers from her system, now, she was feeling okay as though nothing had happened.

What was she to do now?

This wasn't some myth she read about; this was real. The proof were the very flowers in the bin sitting in the corner of the room. The raw feeling at the back of her throat was evident that she had indeed thrown up something normal people did not.

Lost in her thoughts, she did not hear Lisanna, her roommate, opening the door and entering., "Hey Juvia, there's a game this- Juvia? You alright?"

The bluenette blinked, quickly getting up from the ground. Her roommate who had been removing her shoes by the door, looked at her strangely.

"Y-yea, I was just- just zoning out." She lied, throwing a sheepish smile to assure her that it was just her doing the usual. "What were you saying?"

Lisanna raised a brow, seemingly to notice something off about her. But when Juvia remained attentive towards her, she brushed it off. Juvia had been busy with her academics so perhaps a little daydreaming was fine.

"Well, I heard that the Ice Hockey Team would be having a game next Friday, and Lucy would be cheerleading, do you want to go together with us?"

By _us_, Lisanna referred to members of the Fairy Tail club, a little social club whereby both the two girls were in, including Gajeel and many others they knew from high school.

Juvia bit on her lower lip, there was a hockey game next Friday and she did not know about it? Gray was on the team and he would always tell her to come see him play, but he did not mention anything about the game next week just yet.

_Right, Juvia, because his world revolves around you. He does not always have to tell you if he has a game on. _She chided herself in her head.

"Juvia?" Lisanna called out when Juvia did not answer her.

"I'm not sure..." The girl trailed off, moving to grab a glass of water. "I need to start training for the swim meet." Well, it was not a lie. While Gray thrived in the Hockey Team, Juvia had achievements in swimming since she was a kid. The swim meet was at the end of the year and it was only February.

"You can do that another day!" Lisanna placed her hands on Juvia's shoulders, "Besides, isn't Gray on the team? You always go for the games, why not this time? Natsu will be playing as well, we have to go and cheer them on as part of the Fairy Tail club!"

If Juvia had to be honest, she did not want to go at all. Mainly because she knew-—"Gray's new girlfriend is also on the cheerleading team; we'll get to meet her then since he has been so reluctant to take her to meetings!" Lisanna added, seemingly enthusiastic.

She had yet to meet his girlfriend after the first time Gray mentioned her. The mysterious Claire, which Juvia often found her name inside of Gray's mouth during their conversations, was someone Juvia felt repulsed to meet. The reason for that was most likely the ugly feeling known as jealousy. It would be better if they never met as her experiences with his exes were never too friendly.

"I-," but before Juvia could finished her excuse, Lisanna clasped her hands together loudly to interrupt her. Knowing Juvia for so long, the latter knew just what would dissolve her resolution to skip out on the game. "Come on Juvia! It's been awhile since Fairy Tail gathered together! You miss seeing everyone right? Besides, Levy will be there, you can help by getting Gajeel to go, if you know what I mean."

The white-haired girl said with much anticipation for her friend's answer that she had already determined would be a yes. Not only Juvia, but the whole club, had been wanting to get Gajeel together with Levy for the longest time. The two were treading on the lines of what some would call 'dating' but neither pushed for the next move after that.

Letting out a sigh and being unable to reject her friend coldly, Juvia nodded, earning a shriek of excitement from her friend.

"Mira-nee has already arranged her bar for us to go to after the game to celebrate..."

The girl chattered on while Juvia listened halfheartedly. In her mind, she was preoccupied with thoughts of Gray and the flowers.

—

"What are yer zoning out about, Raindrop?"

Juvia glanced back at her brother from the windowsill. She had been staring out at the streets for god knows how long. The weather recently had been so cloudy, she wondered if it would clear up soon to welcome the blooming season of spring.

"Nothing." She hopped off the high stool and walked toward where her brother was tightening the bolts of a car. Even after so many years of watching him in the workshop, she still could not understand the mechanics and many metals involved in cars. Anything to do with that was strictly out of her league.

Still, she was always in awe at how her brother worked and fixed the cars. Whether it was fixing or adding some features, he always does it perfectly that sometimes, Juvia finds herself wondering if her brother was able to manipulate metal to his own will.

The workshop they were in belonged to Metalicana, he owned a car mechanic company and Gajeel was to inherit the business in the future. Not that Juvia minded, it was an industry she knew absolutely nothing about. She was just glad Metalicana did not get her to learn about the crazy parts of a car. The only thing she knew was how to change the tires of her car on her own or what to do if her engine fuses. Small survival skills they made sure to teach her, so some random dude can't trick her into following them home.

According to Gajeel, that is the reason why she should learn such skills. Juvia thought it was more so she was not stranded in the middle of nowhere, especially at night on the streets outside.

Her brother gave her a look, wrapping his fingers around the handle of his tool box that he had just closed. "If there's something on yer mind, yer better say it out right or don't bother telling me again."

Juvia rolled her eyes. There he went again, saying what he doesn't mean even though he is a big softie. No matter how many times she hid stuff from him, he would still listen if she needed a listening ear.

Like the one time, when she was 10 and he was 12, she found a stray black kitten. Unsure if her Father would let her keep it, she snuck it up to her room for days. Gajeel, of course, realized something fishy was going on but when he pushed for answers, the only daughter in the Redfox household shook her head. Then, Gajeel said if there was anything, she would not tell him, he was going to ignore her if she told him about it later.

Only when the little kitten was looking sick, then did she burst into his room, tears running down both sides of her cheeks as she sobbed badly about wanting to save the animal.

Despite what he said, the boy listened to her calmly. Juvia had protested terribly when he said they needed to tell their father. Until he told Metalicana never banned pets in the house, he only did when Eliana was still alive to prevent her from getting allergies from their fur.

Now, the Redfox house had a black cat named Panther Lily with compromises from both Juvia and Gajeel. The cat was now left under the care of both Father and Son because Juvia could not take Lily with her to college.

"I was thinking if you should have the courage to ask Levy-san out already."

Juvia smirked when her brother's ears tinted red at the sound of his potential girlfriend. Levy was a newcomer to the Fairy Tail group, Lucy was the one to introduce her to the club, something about becoming best friends immediately with the other bluenette when they met during a class.

"Don't talk crap with me," he scowled but she could see the corners of his lips tugging slightly. He was smitten with the bookworm of the group. Imagine Juvia's surprise when she saw Gajeel with Levy in the library after popping by to return some books. For context, Gajeel had already graduated from university and there was no need for him to be in the library—the one place he detested going to in his school days. So, it was safe to say that Juvia was sure that he was well, _whipped._

"We're going to see the Game next Friday, you should come. Levy will be there," she added at the end, grinning knowingly at her brother who was glaring at her.

He groaned at her obvious implication and that sparkle in her hair as she teased him, "I am not-,"

"I'm asking you so you can accompany me there, Gray will be playing-," Juvia caught herself but was too late. Gajeel smirked at her slip of tongue.

"I should've known, you only go to these games to cheer on your lover boy."

Juvia stood akimbo, her reddening cheeks puffed up in protest as she turned away from her brother to tidy up the work desk next to them. "He's just my best friend."

_Lie. You like him more than just a best friend_. A voice said inside of her.

The same feeling of discomfort she just got to know this afternoon began creeping up her chest once again.

"We've known him since kids, how could I like him?" She questioned, trying to be nonchalant about it. Her chest tightened uncomfortably at what just left her mouth. "Not only Gray will be playing, Natsu will be there too, along with another few of the boys from Fairy Tail," she said, fingers curling into a fist around a wrench she picked up, her chest felt tight and it was getting hard to breathe.

Gajeel spun around, unconvinced but nonetheless decided he would not push the topic at his sister's reaction. She was in deep with the Fullbuster boy.

"Right then, I'll make time for it next week, let me know of the time." He ruffled her hair, "I'll get changed then we can get going home. The old man wanted us to drop by the store to pick up some stuff." He tells her before disappearing into his office connected to the workshop by a door.

The moment he was gone, Juvia pressed a hand against her mouth, feeling the rush of foreign articles fill up her throat. Somehow, she managed to make it to the washroom at the other end of the workshop, stumbling into the first cubicle closest to her. When she threw herself over the toilet, purple petals spilled out one after the other.

It went on for a moment and Juvia wished for it to stop. The sharp pain digging into her chest was making it harder to take in heaps of air that she was deprived of while hurling.

"Juv? You in there?" Gajeel's voice startled her. She had not expected him to look for her so quickly, or had she been in there longer than expected? She did not know. As if to mock her, the 'thing' within her went away, the pain no longer there as she took in a deep breath,

"Y-Yea." She answered, praying in her head that he did not hear what had just happened. The fear of anyone knowing bit at her mind like a leech sucking on blood. She did not want anyone to find out, she did not need them panicking and worrying over her. It would be burdensome if they did.

"Alright, I'll be in the car," Gajeel informed and she could hear his footsteps leading further from the washroom. A sigh of relief left her and she barely kept herself standing from how sudden everything was.

Flushing off the evidence of her problem in the toilet, the bluenette walked out to the sink. Her teary eyes were a sign of how much she had exerted herself during the entire episode. Turning on the faucet, she splashed water against her face, disregarding how it was making her hair wet. Looking at herself in the mirror once again, she let out an inaudible sigh, watching her reflection to see that her reddened eyes were starting to go back to normal.

"There has to be some other cure to this."

—

_Koogle Search: Vomiting flowers, Hanahaki?_

Juvia ingested the information that showed up on her computer screen upon clicking 'search'. The several articles and information flooded her mind and she was well aware of the silence surrounding her at this time of the night.

_Symptoms of Hanahaki include: Difficulty breathing, flower ejaculation from lungs, pain in throat, tightness in chest... if you show any of the symptoms above, see a doctor_.

_Koogle Search: Cure for Hanahaki?_

Out of habit, Juvia nibbled on the fingernail of her thumb, a sense of anxiety taking over her as she scanned past pages after pages of documentation on this condition that was not known widely around the world but something only doctors that were experts in the pulmonary sector knew.

_Take down the timings of the attacks, and if there is a pattern, you should be able to find out the triggers for it and prevent relapses. But the only way is to fall in love or see a doctor who can remove the roots..._

The article was rather believable until it got to the end. As far as Juvia knows, the only Hanahaki cure was to have her unrequited love, well, requited. Cutting out the roots by opening the lungs sounded daunting.

Was her only way of living being getting Gray to reciprocate feelings for her?

Shutting her laptop close, falling backwards onto her bed. She stared at her ceiling blankly, the sound of the night surrounded her.

If only she could just fall asleep and wake up with it gone like a cold would.

_I never knew loving you would bring me such problems, Gray. But I'll let myself fall anyways if I could turn back time._

—

The noisy buzz of students in the class filled the hallways the moment lessons ended for the day.

Juvia tried her best to weave past the crowds and just as she was merely steps away from her locker, she was almost swept away by a group of guys when a strong hand grabbed onto her wrist.

The hand tugged her strongly and she bumped into a human chest. Apologies spilled from her mouth and her eyes widened when she realized who it was.

"O-Oh it's just you, Gray."

If it was any other time, she would be relieved to see him. But after what had happened, she felt like a deer caught in headlights. What if she started coughing flowers right in front him and everyone knows of the disease she has now? And just as she was going to see a doctor today too?

Her best friend gave her an unimpressed look, "Really? If it's someone else, you apologize but if it's me, you are so emotionless. You're heartless."

_I wished I was heartless_, Juvia said in her head. It has been days since she first started showing symptoms of Hanahaki. Her hand unconsciously went towards her backpack, feeling for the journal where she tracked the floral episodes. She was hoping for more regular episodes so she could avoid them—as silly as it sounded—however, the timings were irregular, the only telling sign was the increasing discomfort in her chest.

"Come on," Gray let out something that resembled a whine.

Rolling her eyes, Juvia gave him a flick on the forehead, earning a yelp of pain from the man. He rubbed his forehead while glaring at her with indignance.

"Okay, Mr. You're-Blocking-My-Way, I need to get to my locker," She tried to step-side him, only to be blocked again. A look of frustration made its way to her face.

The man frowned at her reaction, "You're mad."

Juvia raised a confused brow, parting her lips open and close as she sputtered a 'What?'

"Well, you haven't exactly been speaking to me the past few days and now you're trying to avoid me." He pointed out, rubbing a hand behind his neck as he looked away. It was something he did when he was uncomfortable.

The bluenette lets out a forced chuckle, easing from the little torture called confrontation and talking out feelings. "I wouldn't be trying to avoid you if you aren't standing right in front of my locker. Common sense Gray," she poked his shoulder so he would move. He did as she wanted but remained next to her as she twisted and turned her combination.

"You say that but you haven't been speaking or texting me recently," he said, leaning against another locker, unaware that his stare was making her self-conscious of her every action.

The locker door clicked open and Juvia arranged her books neatly, pulling out notebooks for the next lecture. "I have been trying to rush out my assignments, mind you," _and losing sleep over flowers and unrequited love._ "The exams are coming. Also, aren't you busy preparing for the Game?" She changed the subject tactfully, turning just to see Gray have an understanding look glazed over his face.

Gray's lips formed an 'O' and Juvia turned away from him, slowly taking in a deep breath to make sure she wasn't about to flower bomb him. Everything seemed fine, she was breathing okay. No tight feeling, no nausea, all clear.

_Thank god._

"I forgot to invite you to the game," he realized in an almost too guilty manner. Thankful for a way out of that, Juvia sighed dramatically as she closed the locker door.

"I had to find out from someone else, you're doing a very bad job as my best friend-," she cut herself off suddenly. The word best friend tasted bad in her mouth and sounded weird to her now. She became shocked at her thoughts and shook her head which Gray mistook as her displeasure in his negligence.

"I'm sorry! Preparing for the game had taken up a lot of my time and I was making time for Claire whenever I could!" He defended himself, though Juvia wasn't sure if he was defending himself or digging a bigger grave if she had indeed been mad at him. Juvia was sure Claire is a nice girl and would not appreciate if she murdered her boyfriend for being an idiot.

With an exasperated sigh, she zipped up her bag containing her writing materials, "You're lucky I'm not that petty. Lisanna said Fairy Tail would be in attendance." She folded her arms, pushing all her weight onto one leg as she stared up at him. Merely years ago, she had been taller than him but when they started high school, his height drew up so quickly all of a sudden, she barely caught up. The ending result was she was a head shorter than him.

"That means you're coming right?" He asked, hopeful about her attendance to his game. She had never missed one and it became some sort of a tradition between them both, minus the fact that the upcoming game would decide if their team got to enter the semi-finals.

On instinct, she lowered her head and fiddled with her bag, rearranging the straps over her shoulders.

_It is unfair to look so cute by simply asking a question. _She bit her lower lip and composed herself from making a face of a silly girl in love. "Yes, I'll be going."

She said Gajeel was whipped for Levy, but it seems to be the same in her case. She can never say 'no' to him easily.

At her answer, Gray grinned with a silly look on his face. "Okay then, I'll see you there- Oh! Justin! Talk to you later, Juv!"

Juvia stared at his retreating silhouette as he caught up to a blonde dude. Her eyes followed him. It was only when he was out of sight that she dumped her books back into the locker. Her usual lecture in the afternoon was cancelled and switched for self-study time. Rather than doing that, she had a doctor's appointment to head to.

—

It was around seven in the evening and at the empty pool facility of Magnolia University. A figure swam stealthily towards the end, cutting through the water like a knife. The arena was quiet, apart from her constant actions in the water.

Once her hand touched the wall, she rested her upper half above water, leaning over the concrete. Her mouth parted as she took in breaths of air.

Was that her 30th lap? 31st? She wasn't sure.

The only thing she knew was after the appointment when she returned to the dorms, her legs brought her straight towards the changing lockers and she changed into her swimming suit. When she was done with stuffing her blue locks under her cap and her goggles were on, she leaped into the water.

_"I think you know as clearly as I do what illness you have, Miss Locker." The doctor, Dr. Erika, a lady in her forties. She gave Juvia a sympathetic look before she explained the choices the girl will have to make. "There are two options I can give you,"_

_Juvia listened carefully, maybe there was hope after all._

_"The first one would be getting the person of your unrequited love to return those feelings for you," she said, looking at Juvia in the eyes to say that she meant it. "I have seen cases like yours before and you'll be surprised at how many gotten cured through that."_

_For a moment, the girl felt her heart drop. That option was out the window the moment she thought about it. Gray was not interested in her. They were best friends! They were not supposed to be interested in each other. _

_"The second option would be surgical removal." The doctor pulled out a model of a pair of human lungs and a heart. "We will take out the roots and any other parts that have the growth. It will stop it from growing and aggravating your condition."_

_By the grimace on her face, Juvia knew there was going to be bad news with the second options._

_"With removal of these flowers, it will remove your feelings for this person forever. Complications from this surgery can also erase the entire memory of the person, even if you've known them forever."_

_If she did not remove the flowers, she would eventually die when the growth fills up her lungs. If she removed the flowers, her feelings for Gray would be gone forever, or worst, her memory about him would disappear._

_It will be as if Gray never existed._

_Juvia lets out a shaky breath, "How long would I have until it starts killing me?"_

_The doctor turned towards her computer, typing in something before giving Juvia her attention once again._

_"We'll only know from doing a chest x-ray."_

Juvia dove back into the water, the cold, diluted chlorine engulfed her entire body.

_"3 months."_

It felt as if her world was collapsing around her.

If she did nothing, she would only have three months. The swim meet she has been looking forward to at the end of the year, she would not be able to attend. Not only that, she won't be able to see Gajeel and Levy get married and have kids. She won't be able to open her own cafe like she always wanted to. She won't be able to get married to someone she loved and have her own mini Juvias running around.

She was only 20.

Too young to die.

Too many things left undone.

Was it worth losing her love and memories of Gray in exchange for them?

With that same question in her head, she began swimming laps again. She swam until her legs felt sore, until her arms were tired, and her lungs burned for air.

Would it be bad of her to try?


	4. III: Stranger Confidante Pt 1

***Author's Note***

**Hey guys! You might be wondering how did chapter three get split into two parts. Well, after much contemplation, I have decided to split it as it was getting really long, close to 10k words. It is due to the fact that I am currently editing the first few chapters before moving on to a new chapter. **

**I am aware not many authors edit before the book is completed but I felt it was much needed in order for the upcoming chapters to be more consistent, no matter how small the difference is. I do suggest going back to reread when I am done with editing as there are addition of some contents that you might not want to miss. It might also make better sense of my work **

**Edited: 19/07/2020 Happy Reading! 3**

**-Smiles: )**

—

Over the weekend, Juvia went back to her home with her family.

"How is school going for you, sweetheart?" Metalicana asked as his daughter served their lunch—roasted veggies and grilled salmon made by Juvia. There was an arrangement with the two siblings when both of them were in university at the same time that they would return on weekends to stay. Metalicana had not seen Juvia for two weeks after she had stayed in her dorm to finish up her school work.

"It's been fine. Though, there is a sudden rush of deadlines now that the exams are nearing." She answered, all the while emptying a can of cat food into a metal bowl.

Below the counter, the family cat, Panther Lily—or Lily for short, circled her legs as she tossed the empty can away and took the food bowl into her hand. Soft mewls came from the feline as it anticipated its meal that was held above its head.

When she placed down the bowl, the creature was already waiting at its designated feeding spot. Unintentionally, she mentioned the swim meet that was happening at the later half of the year. "I've been getting ready for the swim meet at the end of this year as well, I have relaxed for too long during the last few weeks."

_You wouldn't be able to attend. _She brushed off the voice speaking at the back of her mind. Her hand trailed to Lily, patting its back gently as it began chowing down on its meal. "Eat slowly, you silly cat, or you'll end up throwing everything back out again." She wrinkled her nose and made sure Lily was eating at a normal pace before stepping away.

The younger Redfox scoffed at the table, piling up potatoes onto his plate while he spoke, "You still have months to go, you should relax a little. You're working too hard."

That earned him a hit on the head, causing Juvia to giggle at his pained expression. Metalicana rolled his eyes at his son when the latter grumbled even more.

"You need to start early for this sort of thing, even if it's three years away. Don't listen to him, sweetheart. When the time comes, I'll make time to support our little princess."

Juvia whined at the nickname. The older male unapologetic as he grinned and ate a mouthful of salmon and broccoli. Even so, Juvia was grateful at how supportive of a father he was and how supportive—but not showing it—her brother was. Gajeel was someone who was hard in the head but soft in the heart. She was sure Levy's soft but hard interior would be a great match for him.

Gajeel began conversing with their father about future plans for the workshop and Juvia found herself questioning herself.

Would it be worth it if she abandoned her family for love? A loving family she had gained over the past fifteen years of her life, would she be able to do that? For Gray? It sounded ridiculous to her to even think of it.

Metalicana had stayed so strong for the two of them when Eliana was gone. But no matter how strong he was, Juvia knew he had cried many tears after her passing on his own in the bed room. Juvia could barely remember other details; it was like a blur to her.

When the two were in the mourning period, Juvia had tried not to cry. She did not want to worry them. Perhaps it was a habit from the orphanage that she tended to hide such emotions, no one would baby her when she cried and she eventually learnt to deal with it on her own. Ur was the one who broke the dam when she realised how much the girl was holding back.

Juvia recalled the trips to the hospital. The sirens. The shouts from medical staff and Eliana's constant smile, even if it was weak, to comfort them.

She found her heart aching at the memories that came rushing back. Would she be causing them the same pain by making a selfish choice?

"Juvia? You alright?" Gajeel snapped her out of her thoughts. Juvia blinked absent-mindedly and realised there was something wet on her hand that was placed on her lap. She reached up to her face, touching beneath her eye where the tear had left a track.

She forced a chuckle, "I think, something just- just- it got in my eye and I forgot to blink."

Metalicana watched her for a moment more, "Are you sure, sweetheart? If there is anything bothering you, you can tell old Pops."

Blinking to keep the tears at bay, Juvia shook her head.

_No one needs to know about it._

"I'm okay. Really. I think an eyelash got into my eye. Let me just check that it's gone, you guys carry on." She excused herself from the dinner table, heading straight for the bathroom at the end of the kitchen.

Juvia held herself up over the sink with two hands, staring directly into the mirror.

_Get yourself together, Juvia. _She told herself, turning on the tap so water was running steadily. After a couple of splashes on her face, she made a determined face in the mirror.

Whatever it was, she was going to try. Try to get Gray's love? Was that it? She would try? How? She did not have an answer. But one thing is for sure, by the end of it, she would have to have the roots removed if she wanted to live. This family that loved her and she loved them back just as much. Could she risk them for a man she loves? She did not know. Ideally, she would want both. But what about her friendship with Gray?

A sharp pain clawed at her chest and Juvia doubled over to the side, her head missing the edge of the porcelain sink in the process. She clenched a fist over the center of her chest where she could feel a gnawing, stabbing pain. With all her might, she tried not to make any noise that could alert her family that would hear if she were to make a loud ruckus in the bathroom.

There was that familiar feeling of something closing up in her throat and Juvia turned on the faucet, letting it run while she huddled over the toilet. With every cough that erupted from the back of her throat, she willed herself not to cry. But the tears would not listen as they came running down her cheeks in defiance.

_Everything would be fine, Juvia._

"Sweetheart? You alright? You've been in there for a while." Metalicana's voice sounded through the running water.

Juvia rushed to flush the toilet, panic-stricken and disheveled. She had not realised that she had taken too long to be perceived as normal after what had occurred at the table.

"Y-Yes! I'm fine! Just," she paused, finding an excuse with her eyes. She spots the opened packet of sanitary pads and instantly replies, "I just need some time here. Pinky hours."

Juvia cringed at the term she used ever since she was fourteen. It was what she used to explain to her Father as to why they needed to go to the store at nine in the evening.

Almost immediately, Metalicana understood. "Alright, take your time, I'll, _uh_, I'll go back."

Slapping her fingers against the tap, the echo of the water running stop, sending Juvia into silence on her own.

She ran a hand through her blue locks; eyes wide in disbelief.

When the flowers came out earlier, they were a dark purple, close to blue. However, it was not that part that alarmed her. It was the red tints tainting the water around it that caught her attention; so was the metallic taste at the back of her throat.

There was blood.

_"Some episodes of attack, you might find blood in them. Which is why I highly suggest for you to go through with the surgery as soon as you see signs of it. When there is blood, it would mean there is some tearing of the lung tissues, and it would further lead to internal bleeding if you let it worsen."_

This was all happening way too fast; how could she have 3 months and now it seemed shorter than expected.

—

"I'll be fine. I can drive back on my own," Juvia convinced the overprotective males. It was half past nine in the evening and she was about to get in her car to drive back to her dorm when Gajeel came out, insisting he drive her instead.

Him driving her back would mean that he would have to go back home by taxi, and she did not feel good about letting her brother do that, especially if she has the ability to drive and had her own car.

"I-," Gajeel started but he was cut off quickly by his sister.

"Trust me, besides, I did not take defense classes for no reason." She looked her brother in the eye.

Metalicana lets out a small chuckle, "Seems like our little princess has all grown up." His smile reached his eyes where she could see laugh lines etching themselves in the corners. A sign of the years taking its toll on him.

Unwillingly to let herself become teary in front of them both and cause them worry, Juvia hugged the two quickly before getting in her car.

"Call me when you get there, if you do not call me after 45 mins, I will call the cops." Gajeel folded his arms and Juvia expected her father to whack him in the head, instead, it seemed as though both Redfoxes were in agreement.

Unable to smile properly from the mixed emotions within her, the girl nodded and got in the car quickly. Even as she drove away, she could still see both men in her rear mirror and her hands tightened on the steering wheel.

_Pull yourself together, Juvia._ She repeats the phrase in her mind like a prayer. Crying while driving would be a recipe for disaster even if the road was quieter than it was during the day. With that in mind, somehow, she made her way back to the dorm without so much of a hiccup.

"Yes, I'm back." Juvia clicked the door close behind her. The phone was held between her shoulder and ear as she removed her shoes with one hand against the wall for support.

"Yes, Gajeel, I'll be sure to take a break when I'm tired. Yes. Yes, I know. You're beginning to sound like a Mother-," Juvia chuckled when he protested behind the phone.

"_Fine. Go to bed now, Raindrop."_

"Good night," she tells him and ended the call.

Judging by the darkness, she presumed that Lisanna had already gone to bed. The latter had a habit of sleeping early. When Juvia entered her room, the silence in it was deafening. The bitter reality of earlier creeped slowly into her mind while she leaned against her closed door in defeat.

There was blood with the flowers.

There was blood with the flowers.

There was blood-

How long more did she have?

The three months stated could shorten any time. The thing growing inside her was like a ticking time bomb.

Sliding down to her knees, she hugged them for comfort. She had a decision, did she not? Yet, why was she doubting it every chance she gets?

The image of Gray appeared in her mind and her heart squeezed at the thought of him. Her chest felt like it was caving in when she remembers how loving he had been to another girl, another girl that was not her. She bit her lower lip, thinking bitterly about her love for him was merely one-sided which resulted in this situation. _How foolish._

Her phone buzzed in her hand, bringing her out of her thoughts.

On the screen, an unflattering image of Gray flashed across it; she took it when they were eating their favourite Caramade Franks. He was calling her but she simply stared at the phone, at a loss as of what to do. He was the last person she wanted to talk to right now.

_Gray: Juv? 10.23pm. _

_Gray: You asleep yet? 10.23pm._

She considered not answering his text but the curiosity got the better of her.

_Juvia: Not yet. Why? 10.24pm._

_Gray: You said you were coming to the game on Friday, right? 10.24pm._

She paused, staring at the screen blankly. _So, it was about the game again._

_Juvia: Yea, I am. 10.26pm._

_Gray: Alright! I'll save seats for you. 10.27pm._

_Gray: Don't be late! 10.27pm._

Should she confess before it is too late?

_Juvia: Okay. 10.35pm._

—

On the day of the game, there was a crowd forming outside the university sports stadium. Juvia had long lost Lisanna to the crowd after a large group swept past them and separated them. The bluenette needed to find her since it was the silver-haired girl who was holding onto the tickets for their group. Gajeel and Levy were with her when they got separated, so it was less stressful for Juvia but she still needed to find them to be able to get in.

The tickets Gray saved for her were given to Lyon and Ultear after their last-minute confirmation of their attendance. Gray apologised and offered to take her out to Rae's; it was their favourite cafe to go to ever since joining university.

"Sorry. Excuse me," Juvia squeaked, worming her way past the swarm of people that never seemed to have an end to it. So, when she spotted an opening to get some fresh air, she beelined through the crowd with her eyes solely focused on it. As a result, she barely noticed the human wall she was walking right into.

"Sorry!" She apologised quickly, expecting the person she ran into to start berating her, but she was taken by surprise when the person chuckled. A voice that was one too familiar for her not to recognise right away. "Lyon!"

He led her to the open area where the crowd wasn't trying to push them further past their current position. Away from the hectic swarms of people, Juvia managed to take a breath of fresh air. She noticed that Lyon was wearing a maroon buttoned-up shirt and he had left the top buttons undone with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He must have come from work, seeing that the shirt was rather wrinkly from the day's worth of moving around.

"Just where were you heading looking all lost and flustered?" He teased, amused at her state of disarray.

Juvia picked at her sweater, feeling warm after being surrounded by a crowd full of excited game-goers. Sighing, she quickly explained her situation to Lyon, from the arrangement with her brother and roommate to losing them all at one point, to her having trouble going back to them and finally reaching the part of the story where she bumped into him. With a wide grin, Lyon grabbed her shoulders and spun her around towards the ticketing entrance.

"Well, lucky for you, Ultear actually cancelled on me last minute so I do have an extra ticket for you." Lyon told her, not giving her time to reject his offer as he pulled out the tickets from his wallet upon getting to the entrance. She could hardly decline when he led her by the wrist towards the presumed seats stated on the tickets Gray gave; the continuous pour of people behind her made it hard to simply stop and tell him as they were constantly swept forth involuntarily.

The seats they headed to bore alphabets and numbers which appeared to be very far from the ones Juvia remembered was on Lisanna's tickets. Paying no attention to the man ushering her towards the seats on the other end, Juvia pulled out her phone buried in the small purse slung over her shoulder.

On the screen were several missed calls from Gajeel and messages asking about her whereabouts. Before she could give him a call back, her brother's name flashed across the screen once again.

"Where did ya' go! We've been looking all over!" Gajeel yelled over the phone—the background noise on both ends made it harder to hear.

Before she could get a word in, Gajeel continued his rant, "Lisanna said she lost you in the crowd, Shorty is here with me and we're waiting for you. The crowd is annoying as hell!"

Scratching her face awkwardly, Juvia wondered if there was a better way to explain the current situation. "Actually, I've already gotten in." She revealed, hoping he might understand after she got her chance to explain.

"What do you mean you've gotten in?"

"Ultear isn't coming and Lyon had a spare ticket, so he got me in." Juvia bit on her lower lip, she had not expected this to happen. At the same time, Lyon made a gesture towards two empty spots which she assumed were their seats.

"You're alone with that stripper now?!"

Juvia cringed away from her phone, eliciting a curious look from Lyon. Upon seeing the ID on her phone, Lyon mouthed for her to pass the phone to him and that he would handle it.

"Hey, Gajeel- No worries, I'll take care- I won't! How dare you assume that! I am not a stripper!" Lyon held a hand over his face, the nickname had been stuck on both him and Gray after Gajeel discovered their habit of removing their clothes randomly when they hung out together. "Where are your seats anyways?"

Ignoring the sneer behind the phone, Lyon turned to the area on their right and grinned when he spotted the man on the other end of the stadium. Juvia waved sheepishly at her brother who looked as though he wanted to put Lyon in a headlock and keep him there. Behind, she could see Levy and Lisanna, giggling before waving back at her with pointed looks at the burly male ahead of them.

"Anyways, the seat was saved by Gray, would be bad if we left it empty wouldn't it? It's closer to the front too." The man then smirked and winked at Juvia when he caught her eye. She simply sighed and shook her head. "I promise not to have any indecent thoughts- I do not remove my clothes like a stripper, Gajeel. You wound me, mon amie." Lyon argued into the phone, having long lost the raven-haired male in the crowd on the other end.

There was some loud yelling behind the phone before the man handed the phone back to the bluenette, telling her that Gajeel was still on the line.

As usual, the overprotective brother made sure she knew what to do if she was caught in an undesirable situation. Of course, he would come booming down to pulverize the guy who dares touch even a strand of hair of his sister's without her permission.

After a long, nagging reminder, Juvia finally got Gajeel to hang up. Maybe it was because it was nearer to Eliana's anniversary that he was being more protective than usual.

"So, how's everything going, Juvia?" Lyon asked, tearing his eyes away from the empty rink to her. "I saw a poster for a Winter Swim Meet on my way here, will you be participating?"

Juvia fingered a lock of her blue hair absentmindedly, her eyes out of focus as her thoughts drifted elsewhere at the topic. "I've been practicing for it," she says, making her voice sound excited when the expression on her face was anything but that. She looks down at her lap, pretending to be busy with her bag so he would not notice her reaction.

Throughout the years in high school, Juvia had attended and participated in plenty of swim meets and competitions. Each time, she would bring back medals, ranging from bronze to gold. Not to mention, this year's event would be the last one she would be able to attend before her graduation.

It is also the first swim meet to be done in the winter season; the winner would have the chance to attend Fiore's Swimming Competition as a national competitor. To Juvia, just being able to attend and represent her school was good enough for her. It did not matter if she got the first place, unlike what her coach thought. If she had to be honest, she thought having that title on her portfolio would be beneficial for her future career as a marine biologist at an aquarium.

"It's going to be a great swim meet, it seems. With our Magnolia's fish-," Lyon started off playfully before he was cut off when Juvia slapped him on the shoulder.

He laughed and Juvia scoffed, "I am not a fish."

Even as adults, he still acted like a child, _just like Gray_.

The statement prompted Lyon further as he rested his face against his hand, a smirk climbing onto his lips. "Ah, how could I have insulted you that way, milady. You're like a graceful mermaid, with hair made of silk and pearls."

Even if she tried, Juvia could not help the smile appearing on her lips before she erupted into giggles. They continued chatting but stopped when Juvia caught the eyes of someone familiar sitting at the very front rows. Someone she had only seen in pictures, heard from friends and knew of through word of mouth.

"Isn't that Claire?" Lyon waved at the girl who gave him a wide smile. When her attention landed on Juvia, she simply stared for a brief second before turning her attention back to the court where the players from the opposing team began entering. At her brief greeting towards Lyon, Juvia frowned. Claire seemed… less friendly than she expected.

Perhaps she was being a little too sensitive. Sometimes, people were just shy when meeting or seeing someone they had just acquainted themselves with.

Juvia admired her beauty from behind, the rich, dark hair that was twisted into a high bun on her head. The charming green eyes, high cheekbones and plump red lips were proof of her stunning appearance. There was no doubt as to why Gray liked her so much aside from her personality.

A sharp pang hit her and Juvia barely stopped herself from hunching over. Her sight went blurry for a split second and she found that her head was throbbing all of a sudden.

The moment she got her vision back to normal, as if to tease her, she could see clearly the jersey that Claire was wearing. The name and oversized appearance were clear enough to say that Gray had lent her one of his shirts.

Juvia bit the inside of her cheek, pressing a sweaty palm over her thigh; the familiar feeling of an attack was overwhelming her in this crowded area. The game had yet to start but she needed to go.

"Excuse me," she said hoarsely to Lyon before grabbing her purse and making her way out of the bleachers towards the exit. She gasped for air when she got to the washroom, hoping it would ease the pain, but the effort was futile when the rough petals made themselves known at the back of her tongue.

Without time to care for if anyone else was in the bathroom, she threw one of the cubicle doors open, placing herself over the toilet.

Juvia dry heaved for a moment, the nauseating feeling climbing up her throat. She clawed at her chest, well-aware of the obstructing things in there. One by one, petals of different shades of blue left her mouth. Every single one was connected to her by a thin strand of saliva, seemingly mocking her that she cannot get rid of them no matter what she tried.

The pain dulled and she took in gasps of oxygen to compensate for the amount of efforts she exerted for the past five minutes.

_It hurts so much. _

She had known that Gray was dating Claire for weeks. She was the first person he told. She knew. She knew.

She knew and, yet, why did she still feel that way when she saw Claire, especially when she noticed his shirt on her?

_Because reality sets in only when you see it._

In the midst of that, she did not realise the pink-headed girl holding up her hair behind her. Hiding her shock, the girl softened her face into a concerned expression and released her hold so Juvia could stand up properly.

"Are you alright?"

Juvia's mouth parted and closed as she struggled to say something but a coughing fit took over. The pink-headed girl soothed her back softly as if she had done this before and she was unfazed by what had occurred in front of her.

After washing out her mouth of the bad aftertaste left by the bile at the back of her tongue, Juvia dried her face with a paper towel, unsure and worried about what to say to the girl standing behind her. While she was contemplating those thoughts, the girl handed her a water bottle.

"Here, I bought it earlier, I haven't drunk it yet," she says, offering a small smile to ease the anxiety rising in the bluenette.

"Thank you."

Sipping on the water, Juvia avoided looking at the girl, prompting the latter to ask if she wanted to talk about it.

Juvia shook her head.

Even if she did, it would not be like she knew where to start her story. She did not want her to know she was in love with her best friend from childhood. No one was supposed to ever find out. Not even a stranger she met in the washroom.

"Does anyone know that you have this condition?"

She shook her head once more. The lack of an answer from Juvia was enough hint that she wasn't in the best condition to talk about it.

The girl pulled out a small notepad and pen, scribbling down her number and name. "Well, my name is Meredy. I don't know if it'll help, but if you ever need someone to talk to, you can give me a call or text." She stuffed the paper into her palm.

Juvia unfolded the paper, the name of the girl written in pretty handwriting. _Meredy._

"Are you alright to go on your own...?" Meredy dragged on, unsure of the name of a stranger she just met.

"Juvia." Her voice came out slightly raspy and Juvia cleared her throat, knowing her cheeks were heating up in embarrassment.

The pink-head nodded, giving her a comforting rub on the arm and Juvia wondered if she was pretending to be unfazed by what had happened or if she knew of such a condition. It wasn't every day you see someone throwing up flowers instead of bile.

"Please don't tell anyone," her voice trembled as a look of fear came over Juvia, staring at Meredy with desperation clear in her eyes.

The girl agreed. "I promise. I have no one to tell to anyways," she paused, the expression on her face turning darker. "It's none of my business but I genuinely hope you understand that dying for love isn't as amazing as it seems."

She then left but not before looking back to ensure Juvia was alright on her own. Eventually, the door swung shut and Juvia stood alone in the bathroom. Unconsciously, she had dropped to her knees, breathing heavily.

Someone knew. Someone found out. If it was someone else who found her, if it was someone else who walked in-

Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a text from Lyon.

She had gone off without telling him where she was going and had been gone for quite a long time which could not be considered normal. Without thinking, her fingers weaved out an excuse of her feeling unwell due to her monthly problems and that she would head back to her dorm to rest.

_Lyon: Alright, but if you're feeling worse, call me. 2.11pm. _

—


	5. III: Stranger Confidante Pt 2

—

A soft sigh escaped Juvia as she got out of her car where she had parked a street away from Mirajane's restaurant. Her phone had been buzzing with messages from her brother, Lisanna, Lucy and Levy asking about her well-being. They realised she was gone before the game had reached half-time and Gajeel wanted to storm right down to the dorm to ensure she was fine despite her constant assurance.

Left without a choice, Juvia agreed to head to the party as she was feeling better than earlier. Not a total lie but she would rather stay in the dorm than witness Gray and his girlfriend being lovey-dovey.

So, there she was, still in the sweater she had worn, but with an additional denim jacket to fend against the dropping temperatures at night. The doors to Mirajane's restaurant, 'The Devil's Den', were wide open and bustling with life.

The party had already started with the crowd cheering for the victory of the team. Upbeat music blasted through the speakers and several party-goers were dancing at the center of the restaurant. The tables had been pushed to the side to make a dance floor for the night. As Juvia got nearer to the end of the place where the bar was, she could hear one of the guys at the front of the bar cheering. From what she could hear, she interpreted that Gray's team had won, as expected.

The bar was bustling with drinks being pushed out quickly and at the center, Juvia could see a familiar brunette grabbing every alcohol she could get her hands on. The bartender looked rather irritated at Cana but said nothing as he carried on pouring out drinks for the patrons. To the side, there was the man of the Strauss chatting away with Evergreen, according to Lisanna, her brother was planning to propose next year.

She then spotted the bright scarlet hair of Erza but chose not to interrupt when a certain blue-headed man entered her line-of-sight. She could say hi a little later. Both of them worked in the army and rarely see each other due to the different placements.

The platinum blonde hair of her roommate was seen bobbing around the booths of the restaurant bistro, assisting Mirajane in serving the party guests. Juvia waved at her when they made eye-contact. Lyon was absent; he had to attend to something at work when she asked if he would be there.

Searching the crowd for familiar faces, Juvia noticed the salmon-headed man from the corner, the blonde sitting right next to him was babbling about something that Natsu was trying to pay attention to, rather than the food in front of him. Just as Juvia wanted to walk towards them, Lucy's eyes caught hers. The blonde's arms waved frantically in the air and Juvia fought back a smile at how adorable her friend was when she was excited.

"You're finally here! I was so worried when I didn't see you after the game, Lisanna said you've gone back before the game even started. Are you okay?" Lucy fretted over her and Juvia felt bad for lying.

"I'm fine, I took some painkillers." She glanced around, trying to spot for a familiar raven-haired man. Despite the fact that it was impossible, Juvia found herself worrying if perhaps, in the smallest possibility that Meredy knew Gray and she would tell him everything.

What if Meredy knew Gray? Or what if-?

"Are you looking for Gray? He's probably celebrating with his teammates at the front of the bar." Lucy answered her unspoken question, a knowing smile on her lips as she watched the bluenette's wandering eyes.

At her words, Juvia's cheeks flushed and she turned so her friend wouldn't see her reaction. "I was looking for Gajeel." Her eyes searched the crowd, going through several faces in an attempt to spot the unruly hair of her brother's.

Natsu ejected his put on the location of Gajeel, "Well I saw him with Levy earlier, looks like they were talking about something serious because Levy dragged him to the backroom."

"LEVY TOOK GAJEEL TO THE BACKROOM?" Both girls yelled, attracting attention to their table while the pink-head appeared confused towards their reaction.

"What are you guys talking about?" Gray said from behind Juvia. The latter bit her lower lip while climbing into the seat opposite Lucy, she did not have to see to know it was him. His voice was something Juvia could recognise anywhere, one she knew by heart.

"Gajeel and Levy are in the backroom," Lucy answered, her brown eyes flying to the corridor leading to said room. Her boyfriend grumbled about what was the big deal and was quickly enlightened by the blonde.

While that was happening, Gray settled in next to Juvia naturally, nudging her gently so she would move in a little more, unaware of what that little action did to her.

"...and he said he was not interested the last time I talked to him." Natsu commented with a smirk and raised a hand to order more beer from a passing waitress.

As Lucy continued to tell Natsu of Levy and Gajeel's budding relationship, Gray leaned towards Juvia. "I saw that you were absent during the game and Lyon said you were unwell, are you alright?" He was so close that she could feel his hair tickling the tip of her ear. Her pulse was racing and if not for the music in the background, she would've expected him to hear it.

"You're wearing the earrings, I got you." Gray grinned, using his fingers to touch the raindrop-shape silver gems that glinted blue and purple under the light, dangling from Juvia's ears. She shivered ever so slightly when he grazed the skin on her neck, brushing it off as she reached behind to adjust her hair. "They look nice on you."

Juvia smiled, using a hand to tuck hair behind her left ear so the earring could be seen better.

"But are you really alright? You really seem a bit off-," Gray started but was interrupted.

"There you are!" The voice was slightly more high-pitched than any girl Juvia knew. A blur of black hair appeared next to their table; the same girl whom she made eye contact with before the game and who still wore Gray's jersey shirt. Juvia glanced over, just realising that the couple sitting with them had left at some point without her noticing.

"I was looking for you everywhere, boo-boo, how could you leave me alone by the bar?" Claire pouted, tugging at the sleeves of Gray's shirt that matched hers. Her eyes went past him to his best friend, eyeing her from head to toe. Juvia could barely force a smile to greet her, feeling uncomfortable from the way she was looking at her.

_She calls him boo-boo? _Juvia shook her head, it was not in her place to judge.

"Well, you seemed to be having fun with the other girls, - Ah, since you're here, let me introduce you to Juvia," Gray responded, oblivious to the staring contest that the two girls were having.

An innocent smile graced Claire's lips but the moment Gray's eyes left her, Juvia caught a slither of a smirk that was gone so quickly, she thought that she had imagined it.

"So, you're the friend my boo always tells me about. You're just like he described." Her tone was sweet, but the subtle undertone of sarcasm was clear enough to Juvia what Claire thought of her.

Juvia cleared her throat, putting on a friendly smile of her own, "Well, I hope it is all good things."

Claire runs a finger on the table before dragging it onto Gray's arm, "Mostly good." She smiled and sat on the space where Lucy was sitting earlier.

Unaware of the tension forming, Gray picked up his mug of beer nonchalantly, "Of course, it's only about the good stuff. Remember the one time you and I went to the lake during our summer break..." He began and Juvia listened, trying to ignore the glare she was receiving from his partner.

However, the other listener seemed disinterested in the story, yawning as loudly as she could without attempting to be discreet. It was their first meeting and Claire was acting impolite. Though it was not Juvia's first time meeting people who disliked her, most of them tend to ignore her like she did. The blatant disregard for any courtesy was clear when the girl loudly interrupted Gray when he continued the story. He assumed she could not relate to such stories and instead talked about their win instead.

Holding in a sigh, Juvia's eyes wandered across the room and spotted a blushing Levy emerging from the corridor with her brother. The shirt he wore was missing the top few buttons, and they were definitely there when she did the laundry last weekend.

The smug look on his face confirmed her doubts.

Standing up, she signaled for Gray to let her exit the booth seat. Before she went after her brother, she felt a rush of confidence to simply irk Claire as a little bit of revenge. She turned around, bending so she was speaking right into Gray's ear, "I'll talk to you later, gotta ask Gajeel about what he and Levy were up to in the backroom," she whispered and disappeared into the crowd, oblivious to a shocked Gray watching her go.

Gajeel had just received his drink from the bar when Juvia caught him.

"So, where did my dear Brother disappear to when he was supposed to be at the party 45 minutes ago?" Juvia nudged his torso and ordered a non-alcoholic drink for herself from the bartender.

Gajeel barely glanced at his sister, sipping out of the glass of alcohol in his hand. He forces the corners of his lip to remain straight so as not to give away anything.

"Lucy and Natsu both saw Levy dragging you to the backroom, you can't hide it." Juvia paused and placed a finger under her chin, "I can't believe a girl would make the first move rather than my brother, what an unexpected turn."

At this, Gajeel huffs, "I was the one who suggested it. I made the first move. Levy-," he shuts up when he realizes what he has done. He fell for the trap Juvia set up for him. Groaning, he dragged a hand down his face to see his sister smiling smugly at him.

"So, not interested huh? 'Nothing like that' huh?" Juvia taunted him, enjoying the moment way too much. After arguing with her brother many times before for him to make a move with Levy, this was a moment she would take pride in winning.

Gajeel grunted in answer, earning a grin that made him want to cover Juvia's face with his hand.

"I saw you and Stripper over there, who was the chick?" He switched the topic and was more than thankful when it was Juvia's turn to feel uncomfortable.

"Claire, his girlfriend." She answered shortly and thanked the bartender when he handed her a club soda mixed with fruity syrups.

Gajeel smirked, "So you mock me for making a move when your lover boy is off with someone else?"

That stung her a little. He was right, but-

"-Gray is not my lover boy!" She says a tad too loud that the people near them looked over. Thank heavens the music was loud enough so they only heard an incoherent shouting. Her cheeks tinted red in embarrassment and Juvia folded her arms over her chest.

"Get rid of your drool and wide eyes when you see him then you can claim he is purely your best friend and nothing else. But I can tell there is more than that." Gajeel stated, taking another swig of his drink.

Juvia side-eyed her brother. "Who are you and what did you do to Gajeel?"

The taller man merely ruffles his sister's hair, "Don't try to change the topic." From the years they've spent together, they knew each other well enough to know what each of them was trying to achieve with such conversations.

"I'm going to go order some snacks so that you can tell me about you and Levy." Juvia scooted away, avoiding the suspicious gaze from her brother.

"I want some cheese sticks!" Gajeel called after her and she held up an 'okay' hand sign as she looked for the silver-haired owner.

—

The party went on and Juvia had lost sight of Gray after she disappeared to a booth with Gajeel where Lucy, Natsu and Levy were at. They had been talking for an hour when Juvia realised Gray was missing yet again.

"-so, I told Jessica that she was selected for the team!" Lucy finished her story, both males at the table were already in a conversation of their own and Levy seemed to be the only one listening intently. Juvia had zoned out through the whole thing, she had only reacted with a nod to appear as though she was paying attention.

Her eyes lit up when she spotted Lisanna removing her waist apron. Rather than looking relieved to be off-duty, the girl approached their table in a hurry, her brows furrowed as though she was unsure of something.

"Hey, Lisanna! You're finally here to join us?" Lucy shifted herself so she could free up the space opposite Juvia. They had managed to find a booth suitable for six and now it was completely filled with Lisanna joining them.

Natsu sat up at the sight of the platinum blonde girl. "Great! I was just thinking if I could get some buffalo wings, fries, a burger, some nuggets-!" He was cut off by his girlfriend whacking the back of his head.

"Natsu, Lisanna is taking a break, go order the food yourself," Levy chided, her brown eyes darting to her—_now—_boyfriend whom she knew was going to add on after Natsu's orders. Gajeel held his hands up in surrender, choosing not to order. He was sitting at the end with his girlfriend between him and his sister, getting out would be a huge hassle.

However, Lisanna's frown remained on her face.

"What's up with the face, Lis? Did one of the team members make it difficult for you? Tell me who it is, I'll teach them a lesson," Lucy rolled back the non-existent sleeves of her tank top.

Lisanna shook her head in answer before looking around to see if anyone was paying them any attention. She only spoke when she thought it was fine. "I think I saw Claire with some other guy in the backroom."

"WHAT?"

It was Juvia's turn to frown.

Lisanna continued, "I was just leaving to grab some food to serve near the back, but I saw her dragging some guy to the room." Her blue eyes darted to the said place.

Natsu chuckled, "It must've been Gray that she was dragging in, after all, Gray knew of Gajeel and Levy's little adventure there." He smirked, earning a punch to the arm, courtesy of the raven-haired man sitting in front of him. Levy's cheeks were flushed while Juvia felt her heart squeezed at the thought of Claire and Gray. Her palms felt sweaty and she could feel an oncoming dull ache in her chest.

"The man she was dragging with her was blonde. Unless Gray had a bleach during his time here, otherwise, the man she had with her is not our Gray." Lisanna said affirmatively.

All of them became uncomfortable. They glanced at each other, trying to comprehend the information bestowed on them.

Of course, it was Natsu who yelled first. "We ought to tell Gray-!" But Lucy tugged his arm, so he remained seated. Surprisingly, Gajeel was the next one to speak with logic rather than his usual tactless thoughts. "It could be someone else that looks like his girlfriend, even if it was, we have no evidence."

"If we go in there right now, we would have evidence!" Lucy piped up but Levy shook her head in disapproval.

"Lu, if it was like what Gajeel said, we would have intruded on a couple of strangers."

As they all contemplated what was the next best action, Juvia who had remained silent the whole time excused herself to the bathroom. Her palms were red from how hard she had clenched her hands, though, she could not tell if the sheer grip she used was from holding in the pain or from anger at the possibility that Claire might do such a thing.

Minutes passed and another round of blue flowers were flushed down the toilet. Juvia stepped out to the bathroom, the devil they were talking about had come into the bathroom. Her shirt was disheveled with wrinkles, and her leggings were slightly sheer from being tugged on.

Claire looked over at Juvia, smirking as she ran her hands through her luscious locks of hair, rearranging it back to the neat bun she sported in the afternoon.

"Did you come from the backroom?" Juvia asked, shocked that she did without thinking. Maybe Lisanna did see wrong but if this girl did cheat on Gray, she had worn his jersey while making out with some other guy at their party.

"What makes you think so?" Claire replied, her attention fully at the mirror as she pats down any stray hair. With all the hair up, Juvia could see a red-bruise blooming at the side of her neck. It looked fresh, as if it was just planted on her.

Biting her lower lip, Juvia refrained from saying anything else for if she did, it would be filled with colourful curse words of the whole English language.

Ignoring the bluenette, Claire brushed past her into one of the cubicles, not before saying, "You think Gray likes you? You're just a friend he can do without. He only needs me."

Juvia frowned, was Claire acting this way because she was jealous? She held back a sigh, feeling a sting in her heart. She has had enough drama with his previous exes who could not comprehend that Gray had a female best friend.

Regardless of how Claire was acting towards her, she needed to tell Gray about what Lisanna witnessed earlier and what she just saw.

Her azure orbs spotted him the moment she exited the bathroom and she thanked the gods at how quick she found him.

"I was looking for you," she told him, tugging his arm so she led him towards a quiet corner. The crowd was decreasing by the minute, most pouring out to look for other sites of entertainment while some were already too wasted to carry on.

"Juvia? I thought you were with Gajeel and the rest. What's up?" Gray asked, a mug of beer in his hand. He had been ordering another drink when she found him.

Juvia's eyebrows joined together, she was sure she saw him drink two earlier.

"How many have you had this evening? You know it's bad for you to drink that much," she nagged him the way she would with her brother. Though it was mainly a Fairy Tail thing to drink until the barrels were empty, she would prefer if he was able to return home without taking off his clothes and dancing like a stripper would. She had witnessed that one too many times in the past to witness it again.

Gray gave her a silly grin that would sweep any girl off her feet and Juvia willed herself to not be swayed by his charm.

"Probably my ninth?" He waved his hand off, brushing her off, "It's a party! I promise I won't overdo it. So, what did you want to tell me?"

She parted her lips to say what Lisanna saw but stopped herself when she doubted the words about to pour out her mouth. What Gajeel and Levy had said, perhaps it was another couple in the backroom and Claire had been with Gray the entire time?

Who is to say those love bites weren't from Gray?

"There you are, boo-boo." Claire came from behind Juvia, wrapping her arms around Gray's arm, forcing Juvia to take a step away from how she was squeezing herself between them. Her eyes seemed teary. A complete difference compared to five minutes ago when she gave her a snarky comment.

"Claire? What's wrong?" Gray had his full attention on her and Juvia knew it. A woman's tears are her best weapon to control a guy. He spotted the red mark on her neck almost immediately and he looked at her with accusation in his eyes, but the accusation was quickly diminished by the girl's next words.

"Some guy tried to kiss me earlier. He tried-,"

Juvia saw the rage burning in Gray's eyes as he scanned the several groups of men gathered in the room. If there was one flaw Juvia had to name about Gray, it was his temper. His anger was not to be trifled with and even she had been a victim of it once or twice. Though, she made up for it with lots of bribery using snacks years ago, the only other person who can calm him down would be Ur.

Of course, Ur was nowhere here, she was miles away at home.

"Gray, calm down." The bluenette tried to step closer but Claire blocked her, seemingly using her need for comfort as an excuse to do so.

Her finger pointed at a blonde guy whom Juvia had seen before on the hockey team. It was also the same guy Gray called out to before when he was talking to her by the lockers and it was most likely the guy Lisanna saw going to the backroom.

"Justin." Gray snarled, "That bastard just cannot keep his hands to himself!"

Juvia barely caught him from going but was pushed away by Claire once again. The latter smirked at her and mouthed, 'he will do anything for me'.

Frowning, Juvia could not fathom the reason for why Claire would do such an act. But that was not her priority right now.

"Gray! No!" She called out to stop him but Gray was already sending a punch across the guy's face. The fiasco drew everyone's attention and Natsu was quick to emerge, holding Gray back while Elfman pulled back Justin from returning a blow. The smaller man struggled against the Strauss's hold, eager to give Gray a taste of what he just landed on his face.

A bright purple bruise bloomed on the guy's pale skin and he swiped away the blood at the corner of his lip. Glancing at the red smear on his thumb, he turned his glare to the rage-filled man held back by his friend.

"What the f*ck, Gray?"

Gray struggled against Natsu's hold, resulting in Gajeel placing an arm in front of his chest to prevent him from going forth. "You kissed Claire? You forced your dirty lips on my girlfriend? How dare you?" Gray lunged forth but his friends held him back.

Justin smirked, "Oh that. She tasted wonderful, the passion-." Juvia only hoped for him to keep his mouth shut, it was only making the situation worse.

"Gray, he forced himself on me!" Claire bawled and the perpetrator's face was painted in a shade of morbid, the accusation thrown on him was loud and clear.

"What are you saying, Claire, you did it willingly!" Justin almost boomed, eyes narrowed at her. He attempted escaping Elfman's hold but the buff guy barely moved an inch, preventing the blonde's advance towards the brunette. "You said you and Gray were simply-!"

Before he could finish, the owner of the bar stepped between the two.

"Gray, if you want to have a brawl here, do it outside. But I will call the police if you and this guy continue it outside." Mirajane warned, her usual look of innocent and gentleness replaced with a stern look. One that would rival Erza's with how scary she appeared.

"He kissed my girlfriend!"

"I did and so what? She asked me to do it!"

"You forced it on her!"

Juvia wormed her way past the surrounding crowd so she could be near her brother and Gray.

"Gray, take a breath and calm down, it might be a misunderstanding," Juvia coaxed, though she was well-aware of how bad her words sounded to those who had no idea of what had happened in the bathroom. But she would rather it sounded that way than allow Gray to land another punch at the man.

Instead of heeding her advice, her words fell on deaf ears when his dark eyes sharpened into a glare, clearly telling her not to meddle into this situation. "She's my girlfriend." Was all he could say to her.

Her lips parted open in shock and her eyes landed on the girl hiding in his arms.

_The nerve of her to be smirking! _

A blur of red hair came into view and the matter was taken into her hands as she ordered for the two to be brought outside. It did not matter if she was no longer a student at the school, the command in her voice as a female navy officer was enough to make them walk out on their own. As always, she played a mediator during situations like this, having her fair share of stopping fights as a student prefect during her younger years.

However, it was the least of Juvia's concern, even as the crowd surrounding the center dispersed back into their own groups. The pain she felt was like thorns piercing through her chest and she could not tell if it was caused by the actual monstrosity growing within her or by Gray.

He had never looked at her with such anger before. Not when she was not the one that made him mad. Was she being too unreasonable? Was she being ridiculous?

_"You think Gray likes you? You're just a friend he can do without. He only needs me."_

The words of Claire echoed in her head.

"Juvia, you alright?" Levy tapped her shoulder and Juvia snapped out of it.

"Y-Yea. I am." She ran a hand through her hair and realised her friends were now all looking at her, apart from Natsu and Gajeel who had followed Gray outside.

Lisanna went to her but instead, Juvia took a step back when she got closer. "I'll be heading off first." She would have attempted a smile to assure her but Juvia feared if she did, she might start tearing up on the spot.

"I'll go with you," Lisanna suggested but Juvia shook her head.

"You always stay with Mirajane and Elfman on the weekends, besides, Mirajane could use the extra help tonight." Juvia told her roommate, sniffling. "Ah, it must be the weather, my allergies are acting up again. I should go."

"But-," Lisanna went forth to follow her but Levy held her back.

"We should let her be alone for a while." She glanced at Juvia's retreating figure with pity in her eyes.

—

Instead of going straight home that night, Juvia made a stop by the park where it overlooked the river. It was one of the places she enjoyed going to and one of the places she often found herself at when she was feeling upset.

The place was far from the main roads and only had a few street lamps lighting up the area. She found a clean spot to sit on the ground and assumed a position with her knees folded against her chest. It was quiet for sure, with only sounds of the running water to accompany the soft noises of her ragged breathing.

With a bitter laugh, she buries her head into her arm as the thoughts of Gray replayed in her mind again. And again.

_What a mess. What a mess, Juvia._


	6. IV: What If I Said That I Like You

Juvia plopped down on the bed that was covered with fresh white linen. Her hair was still wet from the shower, the moisture from the damp locks imprinting dark marks into the sheets. The girl stared at the ceiling, looking into space. This heavy feeling in her heart, it was burdensome.

It was probably a few minutes later that she got snapped out of her thoughts by a knocking on her door. She pushes herself up to a sitting position, removing the towel around her shoulders to dry off her hair.

"Come in," she says, squeezing the blue locks softly. The door opens to show Metalicana with a mug in hand. By the smell, Juvia could tell what it was.

"I made your favourite, Mom's recipe," he tells her with a smile. He placed the mug on her desk before turning to face her.

A brief silence engulfed them and Juvia tilted her head, "Is something wrong, Dad?"

The man observed his daughter for a moment before asking, "Is there something bothering you? You came home looking out of it earlier." Juvia's motions of drying her hair stopped as she averted her eyes elsewhere. By her reaction, Metalicana could tell something was up. When she got home moments ago, she was acting a little out of the ordinary. He was told by Gajeel that both of them would be at a party and would be home late that night, but with Gajeel's absence and Juvia looking down, something was wrong.

Juvia only shook her head, folding her legs as she sat in a more comfortable manner on the mattress. At that, Metalicana moved to sit at the edge of the bed, gently tapping on her forehead. "Don't lie to me, your old Pops knows when anything is wrong."

She chuckled softly, moving forth so she could lean her head on his shoulder. Sighing, Metalicana stroked her damp hair slowly. Both his kids has grown up quickly, it seemed as though it was only yesterday when he first brought Juvia back.

"Dad," she started, staring at her room door blankly. Her father hummed an answer in response. "How did you and Mom meet?" She half-expected Metalicana to change topics or move away but he did not. It would be another two weeks till Eliana's death anniversary, and she knew, although Metalicana was strong, he was especially melancholy on the day itself, silently sitting in his room alone as he looks at Eliana's photographs.

Once she saw him crying but decided not to enter, for she knew, he did not want his children to see him shed tears. He would always be that strong, goofy dad of theirs.

Metalicana was in silence so a moment before he spoke, "We were classmates. Tablemates, if that is what you kids call it nowadays. We were from the same neighbourhood but never met until the first day of High School."

They were both teenagers when they first met. Eliana, she was one of the prettiest in school and had many admirers following blindly behind her. Whereas Metalicana, just like his son, was one of the troublemakers during his school days. Meeting with the unexpectedly headstrong Eliana, it was inevitable that they became enemies within their first meeting as table mates.

"She was a nerd, but a pretty nerd," Metalicana chuckled and Juvia smiled, knowing if her mother was still alive, she would've chided Metalicana for calling her a nerd. "All the boys wanted to date here whereas I found nothing special about her. We were always bickering about something insignificant. Until one day, I saw her beating up some of the guys from the high school located in another neighbourhood, and I thought, this girl was interesting."

He told her about how Eliana who seemed demure and studious, had so much strength in her to throw down a big burly guy. He thought all she ever lifted was books, he even told Eliana that when he stopped her from beating up the last guy who was crying for mercy.

Every time they met, they were either arguing about a small matter or bickering about how his elbow touched her side of her table. Once, they argued for a full five minutes about how cereal and milk should be poured because Eliana does it milk first. Somehow, she ended up tutoring him when his grades showed no improvement. It was probably then when he realised he had feelings for her.

"So Gajeel got it from you," Juvia giggled. The story of a bad boy falling in love with a nerd definitely ran in their family.

Metalicana chuckled, "At least that boy took action first, as for me, I realised I liked your Mother a tad late. She was pining over one of the other guys in our school and it took me a really, really long time to win over her heart." For some reason, Juvia thought, that Metalicana's eyes seemed to darken slightly at the mention. Perhaps, he still held bad feelings for his past love rival?

Just then, they heard the front door clicked and the sound of footsteps got closer. The girl raised her head, stretching her neck to see the shadow of her brother approaching.

"Hey, what is this? Are you two plotting against me?" Gajeel popped his head past the door, frowning. He then sniffed, the smell of the sweet, chocolaty drink filling his nostrils. Narrowing his eyes at his Father, Gajeel crossed his arms indignantly, "Is that hot chocolate? Old man, where's mine?"

Juvia giggled, hopping off her bed to get her mug, sipping slowly while Metalicana gently slapped the top of his son's head. "You cannot have a sweet drink before bed, have you forgotten the time-?"

"Blah, blah, blah, I can't hear you!" Gajeel blabbered, hiding into his room and shutting his door. Whenever he had sweets before bed, he would wake up in the middle of the night because of nightmares and snuck into Metalicana's bed.

"Reminding him of his embarrassing childhood stories is always a way to get your brother to be quiet." Metalicana shook his head with a smile and turned to look at the bluenette finishing her cup of chocolate goodness. "Sweetheart, if there's ever anything that is bothering you, you can talk to Pops. It is not healthy to keep everything bottled up."

"Yes Dad, thank you," she planted a kiss on his cheek, earning a ruffle on her head. With a noise of protest for her mess up fringe, she reached up with her fingers to comb them down.

"Remember to dry off your hair otherwise your Mother is going to nag me in my dreams tonight," he joked before closing the door behind him. Glancing around the room, Juvia realised how much time had passed over the years. Her walls of teal were fading off to a dull shade, the toy chest by the wall had long been replaced by her study desk and the dressing table that had been filled up with cosmetics and facial products.

The photo frames on her bookshelves were another sign of the years that had passed. There was one with her and Gajeel in the backyard playing catch, one with both her parents and her brother, and there had to be one of her and the two boys next door. That year, the four of them had ran around in the backyard and ended up covered in mud. Juvia smiled to herself, remembering how Ur had a heart attack seeing four little mud piggies appearing in her kitchen.

Another picture sat at the far right on the shelf. Ur took this picture on the day of her high school graduation with Gray. They were dressed in their school uniform and Ultear had braided her blue locks into two fish braids. Having been forced to take a picture, Gray's lips were in a straight line while Juvia stood next to him with her pearly whites on full show. A giggle left Juvia's lips when she reminisce that moment, Ur was nagging Gray's ear off, but he instead whispered to her about how she would act when they graduate from college if she was already this anxious about high school graduation.

The nostalgic taste of hot chocolate brought back many memories from the past.

But, will you give up all these precious memories?

Her grip on the mug tightened at that thought. The words he said earlier echoed in her mind like a broken radio. It was a mistake to think that there was even one strand of hope for her as his other half.

—

The next morning, Juvia decided to go out on a run and also get some groceries to make food for her family. Maybe she would pop by to say 'hi' to Ur as well, she has not seen her for quite a while.

The park was crowded with the usual Sunday happy atmosphere, there were several families hanging out on the grass with their little children running around. Around her, there were many on their morning jog and several riding their bikes.

Juvia plugged in her earphones, adjusting the band holding her phone around her arm. She would make this a quick run before going to the grocery store later. As she ran, she went through recipes she could make, which was the most suitable so both her father and brother could have it for a few days when she isn't home.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the raven-haired male go past her. The man himself was also thinking about something when he ran past her. By the time he noticed the blue hair in his peripheral vision, his best friend was long gone. He considered running along the path she usually took on her runs but decided not to.

He would have to make up for how he talked to her last night. By nature, he was possessive, and his girlfriend being kissed by someone else is not something he can handle. Yet, he almost lost his cool to her and redirected the anger towards the culprit. Just thinking about it made him mad. Justin might get kicked off the team if necessary, but whatever happened was a personal matter and non-related to the hockey team itself.

The next practice would be a tensed one.

Letting out a breath, Gray begun to make his way back home, thinking he might bump into Juvia who would finish her run at the other end of the park. Surprisingly, despite running slow enough for her to catch up, he saw no signs of the bluenette appearing.

"Ah, I forgot. The grocery store is that way," he said to himself, ruffling the back of his head as he sighed and picked up the pace back home. He should drop by next door to look for her later in the afternoon.

—

A fragrance wafted through the house and a just-woken Gajeel dragged himself down the stairs, his long untamed hair looking like a bird nest.

"Jeez, what are you making? The smell woke me up with a growling stomach," he grumbled, walking over to where Juvia pulled out a large pan of shepherd's pie. At the sight of food, his mouth begun to water and he quickly grabbed one of the spoons on the counter, about to dig in when Juvia slapped his hand.

She stood with a hand on her hip, staring up at her brother with a disapproving look. "Did you even wash your face and hands before coming down?" With how her brother's shirt was disheveled and messy hair, she knew he did not.

Behind him, their father came walking towards them. "What have I taught you, Gajeel? You can't snatch food when the cook is still there," Metalicana chided and chuckled when his daughter let out a huff.

"Dad! Not you too!" She almost stomps her feet but resists from doing so, instead, she grabbed her brother by the shoulders, sending him in the direction of the bathroom. "When you've washed up, you can eat."

When she turned around, she sees her father who was almost the same built as Gajeel, crouched over the baking dish with a spoon in his mouth. A grown man acting like a child sneaking behind his mother's back.

Juvia whined, huffing at her Father, earning a sheepish look in return.

—

After lunch, Juvia packed up a separate dish of the pie into a container. She praised herself for knowing to make extras for extras because of how much the males in her house ate.

"Is that for me?" Gajeel asked, coming up behind her while removing the gloves he used for washing the dishes. His eyes seemed like a hawk that had spotted its prey upon seeing the portion Juvia was currently shoving into a bag.

She shook her head, "It's for Ur, it's been awhile since I've seen her. I haven't visited her in a while." And that was true. Despite coming over during the weekends, Juvia rarely saw Ur, mainly because she was stuck in her room revising for her school work, projects or Ur was out of town for business reasons. She knew the woman was home because she saw her car parked in the driveway when she went for her run that morning.

Gajeel sighed. "And here, I thought, you cared for your brother more than your stripper-,"

"He is not my stripper!" She huffed and Gajeel grinned. "Stop calling him that anyways!" Juvia chided, taking the bag into her hand.

Her brother only smirked in response.

"I did make extra portions for you and Dad so you can bring them to work for the next few days, don't finish them all in one day." She told him, going out the backyard to grab her slippers before leaving through the front door.

"Don't stay over for too long!" Gajeel teased, earning a middle finger from the girl. The whole time, Metalicana watched the interaction, raising his brows at Juvia's actions. He was very sure if Eliana saw that, she would've given him a whack on the head.

"No one tell Eliana who taught her that." He mumbled under his breath, knowing very well how Juvia picked up that habit.

As she walked up the driveway of the Milkovich's house, Juvia spotted Gray's motorcycle was parked beside Ur's car. He must've come home last night; did he bring Claire along as well?

No, that was none of her business. Whether Claire was there or not, Juvia was here to see Ur.

"Coming!" A familiar voice called out after she knocked on the door.

The door swung open and there stood Ur, despite the many years that had passed, she looked the same as when Juvia first met her, maybe with just an additional wrinkle at the corner of her eyes. All from the years of taking care of two rowdy boys and additional troublemaker next door. Her hair remained the same short length with the beautiful shade of dark purple. She still wore the same jacket over shirt and jeans, like she always do, it is her go-to outfit according to Ultear.

"Juvia! What a surprise! I've missed you, little blue," Ur beamed, opening her arms to welcome the bluenette. The latter hugged her tightly, missing the comforting warmth Ur could give. Ur pulled away first, observing the girl's face. "You've lost some weight, haven't you? Come on in, sweetheart."

The house interior definitely had a vast difference from the Redfox's. Their white-washed walls had plenty of pencil markings depicting the growth of the three children, there were also several photo frames of their family throughout the years. Juvia even spotted the group picture they took with both families at Lyon and Gajeel's graduation two years ago. There were also many pictures of when they were young, the cheeky faces of the two boys and their suave sister.

"Have a seat, Juvia. I'll grab some drinks for you," Ur told her.

"Oh. That's not necessary, I actually came over to share some of the shepherd's pie I made for lunch." Juvia handed her nicely packaged pie.

Ur looked inside, a proud expression gracing her face. "It looks delicious! I'll save it for dinner since we just had lunch." She winked before asking in a low voice, "Tell me, did Gajeel have a hand in making this?"

The bluenette giggled and shook her head. She remembered the time Gajeel tried to make eggs for both of them when Metalicana was out of the house and almost set the kitchen on fire. If not for Ur's visit, the house would've probably been burned down by a pan smoking from oil.

"But Gajeel has gotten better at cooking. He has been trying to learn from both me and Dad," Juvia added, a smug look on her face as she spills the beans on her brother. When Ur sees the younger Redfox, there will be no end to his suffering of Ur's interrogation. In their hearts, Ur was like a second mom or a very involved aunt figure in their lives, and it was very certain that their love life was something Ur wanted to know about the most.

The woman's eyes widened, telling Juvia to sit so she can grab drinks and they can chat despite Juvia's constant declination. The girl knew that she would not be let off with just handing pie over, after not seeing Ur for a while, she missed this warmth that came from the woman. Her eyes wandered the house and eventually landed at the stairs leading up to the rooms. There was not a single sound, she wondered if Gray was not home. If Ultear was home, she would be taking a nap as for Lyon, he would probably be in his room working on his laptop, so the silence in the house was valid.

Unless, of course, the siblings begin the quibble, it would be a rowdy Sunday afternoon instead.

The owner of the house reappeared with two mugs, both filled with piping hot tea. "You said Gajeel has been trying to learn to cook?" That was something new to Ur, after the incident of him almost burning down the house, Ur thought the boy gave up on cooking after Metalicana banned him from using the kitchen.

Juvia nodded with a grin at how her manly brother was hopeless at cooking. She told Ur all about his cooking trial and errors, how he managed to turn spaghetti to mush and chicken Parmesan to a rock.

"He did it all for Levy." The bluenette disclosed, causing Ur to sit upright, paying close attention as she sip on the mug of tea. It prompted Juvia to continue, telling her about how Levy was the one who took the first action in their relationship. Though, she made sure to omit the part that Levy and Gajeel had disappeared to a room the night before. That was too much information.

Just as they chatted, the front door opened, and the three siblings came tumbling in.

"We're home- Oh!" Lyon exclaimed, his face a display of absolute delight, "Juvia!" He went forth to greet her but was cut off by his sister pushing him away. The girl mumbling something about how he had seen her just the day before and to stop acting as if he has not seen her for years.

The young Milkovich squealed in delight upon seeing the bluenette, pulling her into a hug when the latter had gone towards her.

"I missed you! How's University? Have you met any boys? Do you have a boyfriend? Look at you!" Ultear gushed over Juvia like an older sister would to her little sister and Juvia liked that feeling. They have not seen each other for quite a while as well since Ultear's job involved her going out of town regularly.

Juvia chuckled at her questions shooting out like a machine gun. It was a habit she noticed Ultear had when she was riled up or excited. "I'm fine. How have you been, Ultear? Lyon said you had something on last minute yesterday." This prompted Ultear to explain about her work and how her boss was being a dick, receiving a look from Ur when she cursed.

While all these is happening, Lyon had sat himself at the couch where Juvia was originally sitting at and Gray was standing awkwardly with his hands in the pocket. He did not think Juvia would be at his house while he and his siblings went out to run some errands for their Mother. He decided to move to the couch across his brother, pulling out his phone as if to pretend to be busy.

"-I was so mad when he told me that I had to stay and run through reports that he said he needed on Wednesday just as I was preparing to leave the office early for once!" Ultear grumbled and crossed her arms. Despite her icy outer appearance to many, on the inside, she was like a little girl who needed to vent her feelings somewhere. Ur sighed at her daughter's rant, telling her how it was normal for things like that to happen.

"That's not it Mom, by the way, do we still have..." Ultear led her Mother to the kitchen, seemingly to be discussing about something private. "Juvia, you make yourself at home, we'll go prepare some snacks."

Suddenly out of the conversation, Juvia stood by the pathway awkwardly. To her left, both boys were staring at her rather than their phones which they have been pretending to use the entire time. Clearing her throat, Juvia shifted herself to sit at the couch in between the two.

"Where did you guys go?" She directed the question to no one in particular. The silver-haired sibling's green eyes lit up, excited to tell her where they have gone. He had been disappointed that she had to leave early during the game, and he could not attend the party after the game due to work as well.

Despite the many relationships Lyon had before, they mainly ended up in break ups because he still found himself charmed by the bluenette. Of course, Gray found it too much of a coincidence when he saw Lyon sitting next to his best friend the day before, because the tickets he gave were meant for Ultear, the reason why he did not have any extras left for Juvia.

Before Lyon could answer, Gray cut in, asking the question he had been curious about since the last afternoon. "How did you end up with Juvia anyways at the game?"

Juvia cocked her head, eyes wide when she realised Gray might've noticed her absence at the start of the event. Her heart begun to speed up and she thought it would pop out of her chest at the rate it went.

"She bumped into me while I was heading towards the entrance, and it was at a perfect timing because Ultear had just called to say she could not make it. I'd say it was fate that happened," Lyon smirked and his younger brother rolled his eyes.

Afraid Gray might probe further about where she had disappeared during the game, Juvia prepared to switch topics. That's when she realised, he may not even realised she was absent. He was busy with the game and, with Claire at the front row, he would be more occupied with her.

"Oh, I made some shepherd's pie before coming over, I handed a portion to Ur earlier." Juvia told them, avoiding Gray's eyes on her.

At the sound of food, Lyon's ears perked up. "You said you brought pie? I missed your cooking, Juvia. I remember before I headed off to University, you always made food for me and brought them over."

The raven-haired male rolled his eyes, "She made them for me, her best friend. You only got a taste of them because you stole them."

"She made most of it for me, a small portion was for you, Mom and Ultear to share," Lyon rebutted, getting into a position where he was about to cross over to the younger male.

"Actually, I had the intention of letting everyone to try it, especially Ur, she was the one who taught me, remember? The two of you snatched most of it and received a beating for that because you ended up dropping a bunch of them on the ground." Juvia cut in, grabbing the cup of tea Ur had made earlier. She sipped slowly, enjoying the mild flavour of the green tea leaves. She would have to beg Ur later to give her some of the tea bags.

Gray let out a proud huff, cocking his brow as if to say Lyon was an idiot for thinking that. Unwillingly to let his brother take a laugh at him, Lyon brought up the one topic he knew Gray did not want him to know. The perks of being a social butterfly in his work industry, Lyon knew many people and of course, he knew the bartender working at Mira's bar last night. It did not take him that long to receive news of it since the bartender was talking about it in the group chat just minutes ago.

"Oh right! What happened at the party last night? I heard there was a fight?" Lyon asked innocently, as if he did not know anything. His delicate lips were painted in a smirk once again and oh, Gray longs to swipe it off.

At this, azure orbs jumped to the main protagonist involved in the fight itself and he shook his head subtly. His fingers were crossed on his lap, as if to tell Juvia not to say a thing.

"Yeah, there was a fight," Juvia answered, causing Gray to freeze in his seat as he glared at her to stop. Instead, she put on a smug look, daring him to do anything for she could even scream it so Ur could hear it from the kitchen.

Lyon sat up, interested in the bar fight that had gone down. "Was it the opposing team that dropped by and started a fight or were supporters of the opposing team present? Or was it someone from Magnolia's team?" He inquired further, unbeknownst to him his brother that was trying to get him to stop asking as he turned around frequently to see if Ur was out yet.

The girl smirked at Gray's panic and she knew why. Ever since they start elementary school, Gray would often get into fights with some of his classmates and when Ur caught news of it, she punished Gray badly. One time, he got into a bad fight and was spanked so hard he could not sit nor lie on his back comfortably. In his defense, the guy was insulting his best friend and Gray thought the best way to shut him up was to shove a fist into the guy's mouth. One thing led to another and Gray came out of the fight with several bruises all over him.

In general, Gray and Lyon has had a history of getting involved in fights but the former definitely had a longer list of offences in Ur's book. The two brothers both have matching scars on their forehead for that one time they fought in the park. It was a bloody mess and Ur had definitely had a hard time getting both crying boys to the hospital with Ultear. That meant he would get in trouble in Ur knew he punched a guy last night, because her one rule was: No Fighting. Very simple and very hard for the raven-haired male to follow.

_Is this how you repay the time I punched a guy for you?_ Gray mouthed and looked away when Lyon eyed him.

"Why are you so nervous? Don't tell me, the fight involved Gr-," Lyon dragged off, his lips curling into a smile. The same sinister smile whenever he has a hold over Gray and the latter hated it, oh how he would pay to rip that look off his brother's face. He gripped onto one of the throw pillows on the couch, about to fling it over when Ur came out of the kitchen with Ultear in tow.

There was a tray of cookies in Ultear's hands whilst Ur had a tray bearing glasses of milk. "Who got into a fight?" She asked in a voice that said that it was no funny business for any of her children getting into fights.

Seeing her best friend's pale face, Juvia decided to stop teasing him and answered the question instead before Lyon could try and torture that brother of his.

"It was just a group of guys who patronised Mirajane's bar last night, they were very drunk and were arguing about whether the chicken or egg came first." Her face was so straight as she formed the lie, even Gray thought that might've been what had happened. "One thing led to another and the guy who insisted the chicken came first threw his fist. Elfman kicked them out after they had a tussle."

Ur narrowed her eyes on her youngest son but relented when he seemed innocent enough. The latter visibly relaxed against the couch, his grip on the pillow laxed.

"Alright, then, Juvia, I have somethings to do upstairs, but you know the usual. Make yourself at home, if you need anything, just get it on your own or ask one of the two lazy bugs on the couch."

Her eldest son protested, why did she not mention Ultear as well, and only just the two of them.

"Because Ultear has to control both of you so you don't wear out our precious swimmer. Right Juvia? Oh, and Lyon, stop doing that," Ur pointed to him, eyeing the smitten smile he had when he looked at Juvia. Inwardly, the older Milkovich let out a sigh, as much of a Casanova her eldest son was, he was entirely charmed by the bluenette. She would have to have a talk with him one of these days, she was sure the girl had no feelings towards him. Ur always saw the look Juvia had when she is with Gray.

It was the same as when she first met her late husband, eyes bearing a ton of affection and love.

Ignoring her Mother's jabs at her annoying brothers, Ultear handed Juvia a cookie and they began chatting and catching up on each other's lives. During this time, the two brothers decided within themselves on a movie to watch together and Lyon picked 'The Little Mermaid' because it was Juvia's favourite as a kid. It was probably an hour later where Lyon had already fallen asleep at his side of the couch and Ultear had went to her room to take her nap.

This left the two best friends alone in the living.

At some point, Juvia had moved to the couch where Gray sat, snuggled up in her corner with a blanket Gray handed her he grabbed from upstairs. Her eyes felt droopy as she stared at the television with little concentration. The lack of sleep was getting to her. She fell asleep at three a.m. last night and woke up at seven to go for her morning run.

Gray looked back at her, catching her eye before coughing awkwardly.

"I, uh, I," he said in a low voice, tugging at his collar as if there was something tightening at his throat. "I'm..so.." He mumbled out and Juvia frowned, raising her brow at him.

"Mm?"

"I said I'm sor..." He trailed off and this made the bluenette slightly annoyed. He was always mumbling when talking seriously to her and she could not hear him because of the movie playing in the back. Making up her mind, Juvia picked up the remote control, pausing the movie so she could hear him properly.

"I said I'm sorry!" Gray repeated in a louder volume, causing the girl to jump. Her eyes widened before looking at Lyon who seemed undisturbed by what just happened. She lets out a sigh, turning her eyes back to the raven-haired man in front of her.

Juvia flicked her finger against his forehead, making him yelp in pain as he held onto the area radiating pain.

"What was that for?" Gray hissed, rubbing the sore area. Juvia leaned back to her corner, enjoying the space she had made warm for herself. The air-conditioner was at a temperature she would normally not choose to set it at but in the house of the Milkovich, there was no such thing as being too cold.

"I know she is your girlfriend," her heart panged once again, and she was afraid for a moment flowers would come out of her mouth instead of words. But Juvia continued, staring right into his eyes. "However, you losing your cool and punching someone is not right, Gray. You know that." Her blue eyes were so calm and serene that Gray found himself getting lost in them as he looked into them.

There was always something about Juvia that comforted him and Gray realised it was her eyes. When they first met, her round, curious eyes were the first thing he noticed rather than her hair. Everywhere they went, people were always first to notice her cerulean-coloured hair since it was the one thing about her that stood out most.

"...maybe you should talk to her more. And apologise to Justin for punching him."

Realising he had been staring into her eyes longer than he should, Gray looked away with a flush creeping up his neck. He stuttered a reply, agreeing to whatever she just said despite the fact he did not hear the whole sentence.

Finished with what she wanted to say, Juvia let the movie play. Despite what she said, for him to strengthen his relationship with Claire, she wondered how would he feel if she told him that she liked him.

"Gray," she called out without realising she was doing so, his name rolled off her tongue so smoothly that she could not stop herself in time. It was like a spell he had her under, a spell that malfunctioned at times.

He turned to look at her, humming a response.

"W-What if-," she stuttered and Gray gave her the look, as if to say carry on.

Her eyes averted away from him, staring at the scene where Ariel and Eric were on a boat date with Sebastian singing in the background with the other marine creatures. Her heartbeat was frantic, and her fists were clenched tightly around the blanket. Maybe she should wait for the perfect moment.

She was running out of time.

There was going to be no perfect moment.

Maybe if she got an answer now, everything will stop.

Maybe if he just rejected her, the flowers would stop.

Maybe, maybe-

There was too much to think about.

"What is it Juvia?"

Her nails dug into her fists and she thought her palms were going to bleed. To hell with it, what was the harm in asking? Isn't that Gajeel's motto each time he hesitated? Was he like this with Levy?

On impulse, she sat herself upright and stare right at Gray with a dead serious look.

"What if I said that I like you?"

***Author's Note***

**It has been awhile! I'm thankful for all of you who leaves reviews/comments, and I see the endings you want. I won't spoil anything. I plan to have a few more chapters before concluding the whole book. Probably two to three more? Perhaps four? I can't promise anything but Chapter V is well on its way. Also, with the current virus situation, I just want to remind everyone to social distance yourself and also to wash your hands frequently, avoid touching your face, mouth and eyes with your hands. Wear a mask if you're unwell and make sure to see a doctor!**

**Stay safe and healthy everyone!**

**-Smiles: )**


	7. V: The Exposé

_Her nails dug into her fists and she thought her palms were going to bleed. To hell with it, what was the harm in asking? Isn't that Gajeel's motto each time he hesitated? Was he like this with Levy?_

_On impulse, she sat herself upright and stare right at Gray with a dead serious look._

_"What if I said that I like you?"_

When the question left her mouth, Juvia cringed internally. She said it. She really said it. She could not have found a better time, better place, not when there was Lyon asleep in the same room. Not when the movie was at the scene where Ariel and Eric both had just fallen into the water, her timing was just impeccable.

Her eyes dare not lift to see her best friend in front of her, instead, she looked at the blanket draped over her. All of a sudden, the sleepiness she had had left her and how she wished she just went to sleep rather than what she had done.

_It's for the best Juvia. When he answers, you'll be able to make the decision. If he does not like you, surgery is always an option, isn't it? Isn't that right?_ She debated in her mind.

However, there was only silence from the man and Juvia cursed inwardly. Had she just destroyed their many years of friendship like this? All because she developed feelings and was ruining herself with those feelings.

Picking up whatever courage she had left, her face flushed in embarrassment, she brought her eyes to meet Gray's, only to have her shoulders slouch as she sees him hold a hand over his mouth, his eyes crinkled in the way she knew he was laughing.

He was shaking so badly and Juvia knew he wanted to burst out laughing. Did he think this was a joke? With an inaudible sigh and somewhat relief, she turn her head to see Lyon, who seemed to still be deeply asleep.

She reached over to Gray and gave him a slap on the arm, "You saw through it?"

Juvia played along, ignoring the squeeze at the heart as she pretended to be playing a prank on him. A strangled noise left Gray's lips and he held his hands even tighter against his mouth, trying to muffle the laughter threatening to leave his entire being so he did not wake his elder brother.

The raven-haired clueless man nodded, absolutely losing his marbles over Juvia's 'prank'. "That was good though, you got me for a good second." He shook his head and stood up, "I'm going to grab a drink to cool down," he chuckled, "Want some?"

Juvia responded silently with a shake of her head, a smile plastered over her lips. She looked for a reason to leave, pulling out her phone to check the time. "I should head back home. I still have to prepare for a test next week."

The Fullbuster nodded, "Are you driving back to the dorms tomorrow? We could go back earlier, drop off our stuff and go to a cafe where you can study all day. It has been a while since we hung out at Rae's. I have a quiz the week after as well."

Rae's was a cafe located near town, a few kilometers away from where their University was. It had become one of the best friends' favourite place to study until Gray started dating Claire and their study sessions were commonly in Juvia's shared dorm. It was easier for them to meet and better to accommodate to both their schedules, especially when Gray's greatly depended on his brunette partner.

Biting her lower lip, she shook her head. "I actually have plans with Lisanna." It was a lie, but she needed some time away from him. "Another time perhaps," the same smile she put on earlier creeped onto her lips naturally. Learning how to smile when you're unhappy was something Juvia picked up gradually over the years.

Without giving Gray more time to persuade her, she crossed over to the front door with smooth strides.

When Juvia got home, her brother and father were both in their rooms, she thanked god because she did not want them to see her face filled with disappointment and how her eyes were tearing up.

A pain hit her in the chest once again and this time, it felt like air was being knocked out of her. She held onto the wall next to her to stay standing, trying to make her way towards the kitchen. The feeling was suffocating but worse than usual. The pain was sharp and dull at the same time, and this time, she could feel tiny stabs gnawing against the walls in her lungs.

Not now. Not now. Not now.

A wheezing sound became prominent as she tried to catch her breath. Just a few steps more and she would be in the bathroom.

"Juvia? You home?" Gajeel's voice came from the top of the stairs.

Juvia's eyes widened. Gajeel was going to see her if she did not make her way inside the bathroom fast enough. He was going to know. He would find out-

"Juvia?" He sounded as if he was coming down the stairs.

_Oh no._

She held in a cough by putting one hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. She got into the bathroom as quickly as she could, locking the door behind her at an alarming speed. When she was safely hidden away, she collapsed on her knees, attempting to hold herself up over the toilet bowl with her shaking hands.

Was it because he rejected her indirectly? Was it because he proved that her love was indeed unrequited? The ache in her heart was adding on to the chaos happening inside her.

The flower petals that were ejected were covered in blood stains; the amount of the metallic substance was significantly more than when she first saw red tints.

What seemed like forever to her was a mere minute that passed when she finally could catch her breath. With the back of her hand, as she swiped across her lips, a crimson stain smeared over her skin.

Tears blurred her vision and she wrapped her arms around herself, biting a finger to hold back the sobs threatening to break through the walls she desperately try to build back up.

"Juvia, you in there?" Her brother was outside the bathroom. He must've heard her. The sound of her coughs. He must've heard her.

At the thought of him finding out, she begun to panic, her breaths short and hurried and her palms were sweaty. The anxious feeling within her bit at her as she stared at the door where the younger Redfox was standing.

"Juvia?" He knocked on the door when she did not answer.

Juvia jerked slightly and pushed herself off the ground, gathering her balance against the sink. Her head was pounding, pulsing across her skull, adding on to the agony she was feeling.

_Pull yourself together, Juvia._

She cursed in her mind when the pain in her head was making things worse. The moment she caught her breath, the girl willed her voice to answer him, praying that it would sound normal and not strangled like the feeling in her throat.

"Y-Yea, I'm in here."

Outside, the man seemed to be relieved that it was indeed Juvia. His hand loosened its grip on the metal baseball bat, the length hitting the tiled floor with a clink. "You alright?"

"Y-yes." She cursed herself for stuttering but did not attempt to repeat herself for the fear it might sound even more suspicious after.

"Why didn't you answer me when you came back earlier? I thought an intruder entered with all that sound; I would've knocked down this door had you not answered me the second time." And Juvia knew he would have because Gajeel took no chances with signs of intruders. Metalicana had taught them both how dangerous it was, and they were trained, especially the younger Redfox how to defend themselves if it ever happened.

Had she remained silent till she got out of the bathroom, he may have very well been waiting by the wall next to the door, ready to pounce. That she has witnessed many times, during the years where they were preteens and Metalicana would work overtime, he would return home at unearthly timings. Sometimes, he would accidentally knock over something and Gajeel would appear with a weapon in hand ready to attack.

"I was just- Nature was calling! Do you mind?" She supported herself with both hands, her head was spinning badly, and she prayed with all her might that she would not just black out right there and then.

With a grunt, her brother's footsteps seemed to move away. "I'll let the old man know it was just you, he was about to call the cops." He added, a distance away from the bathroom. When the coast seemed to be clear, a sigh echoed in the bathroom, Juvia took a moment to regain herself. The sound of the tap running soon filled the enclosed space and Juvia splashed water over her face, hoping it would get rid of the redness on her cheeks from exertion.

There was going to be a follow-up appointment with Dr. Erika coming up the Friday after the next, it was when she would be telling her about her decision, whether to start on medications or to go for surgery, or if there was progress with Gray. The last option was definitely out of the window.

She needed to talk to someone.

When she got back to her room, she pulled open the drawer under the desk. The neatly folded paper with the pink-headed girl's number written on it.

_"Well, my name is Meredy. I don't know if it'll help, but if you ever need someone to talk to, you can give me a call or text."_

Biting her lower lip, Juvia begun typing out a text before placing her phone aside, waiting for a response. Her mind went back to Meredy's expression when she talked to her. Did she have experience with Hanahaki? Was there something she did not know about that Meredy knew?

_Juvia: Hi Meredy, it's me, Juvia. Not sure if you remember me from the bathroom last Friday. Do you have time this week? 4.57pm._

—

It was Wednesday and Juvia had been keeping herself busy with her academics for the past two days. The lessons only seemed to drag on longer than usual and she tried to keep up with her studies as well as balancing a time for her swimming practice. Just as the clock hand touched 2, indicating the end of her test, she packed up her stuff swiftly and left the hall. Storing her textbooks neatly into her locker, she decided to go for a walk outside.

The sky was cloudy with a ray of sun peeking through every now and then, it was perfect for her to find a tree and relax under. Her test was over, and she could afford to relax for a moment. Picking out a spot where there were little human traffic, Juvia settled on a spot where the sun was not too blinding nor hot to a point of being uncomfortable.

She would be meeting Meredy in a while's time, but she could not find the energy to move from where she sat. So, she texted Meredy her location, letting her know that she might be late.

_It'll be Mom's anniversary soon,_ Juvia thought as she placed her phone away.

Every year on that day, the family of three would spend their day at the place where Eliana's body was laid to rest. Her tomb would be decorated with her favourite flowers, daisies. Metalicana will make sure to get almost every colour he could get at the florist, to the point where they know to prepare a bouquet of colorful daises for their family.

Unknowingly, Juvia's mind went back to when Eliana first went to the hospital.

_It was a rainy day, _Juvia remembered. The sound of thunder cracking with lightning adding on to the chaos, it was definitely a frightening day for her six-year-old self. That particularly day, Eliana was having a hard time breathing. She remembers her Father barely leaving the room the entire morning. The two children were told to play together in the living room while he looked after their Mother, that was until the blaring sirens became evident that something was wrong.

Gajeel had his hand gripped tightly around his sister's hand as they were led to Ur's car where the three children were not found. Metalicana had called on Ur's help to bring them to the hospital while he followed in the ambulance.

After that trip, there were many that followed before the final trip. Some were false alarms, some were serious, and each time was a gamble, whether they would go and come back with Eliana was uncertain.

The last time was when they had gone to the river side. Eliana's first trip outside in a long time, even though she had to be in a wheelchair, Metalicana told her there was nothing he would not do for her. There were flashbacks of both her and her brother running around, making their parents smile while they watched from a distance. Although she was visibly exhausted, Eliana insisted they carry on with their plan because it was something she promised them.

Thinking back, Juvia wondered if her Mom knew. Despite that day being her last, did she know and insisted on going out? Would it have been different had they stayed home that day?

Even in the car as they were rushing to the hospital, she could remember how Eliana was comforting both her and Gajeel in the backseat. She would say how everything was fine. How she was just in a little discomfort and it was nothing to worry about. Even as she took in a painful breath, she kept assuring them that she would be fine.

A tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly. These days, she has been crying too much. It was getting tiresome to have to cover up her puffy eyes. The last two days were no exception, especially with the increased frequencies of her episodes. From once to twice a day, it has gone to three to four times a day. Though they were not as bad as that afternoon's, they were getting more painful for sure. Each time she took in a deep breath, her chest hurt. The dark violet petals she expelled were starting to look maroon instead of its original colour.

"Hey," a voice called out beside her. Juvia looked up to see the familiar pink-headed girl who helped her at the bathroom at the game. The girl was dressed casually, wearing a red flannel dress with black leggings. She could barely remember what Meredy wore when she first met here. This time, she was glad she is able to meet Meredy without looking like she just went through hell and back. Putting on a polite smile, she greeted the girl. The latter sat herself next to Juvia, the same position of leaning against the comfortable tree trunk.

"Huh, I never knew there was a spot like this in our school," Meredy commented, staring out at the park integrated to fit with the building next to it. There were barely anyone there at this timing, whether it was due to lectures or to the fact that many chose to hang out in their dorms after class, Juvia was not sure.

For a brief moment, none of them said anything. Mainly for Juvia, because she did not know how to start or where to start. Where does she begin her story? From the time she found out about the disease? Or when she first fell in love with Gray and knew it was one-sided? Does she start from what had happened on Saturday at Gray's house? Does she tell her how her condition worsened after that?

Having too many questions to just ask one was difficult, instead, she started the conversation with, "Why did you help me?" During her times in University, any time they heard the sound of someone puking their guts out, it was assumed it was due to a hangover or likely pregnancy or food poisoning. Most people would leave when that happened.

The pink-headed girl did not seem surprised by her question, and instead, she glanced at Juvia calmly for a second. "Must there be a reason why I wish to help a person?" She retorted; her tone was sharp but in no means to hurt Juvia's feelings. Rather, it was as if to mock herself.

When the latter glanced over at her, she could see Meredy's facial expression hardening. As if she was remembering something that ached her deeply. There was a long period of silence between them, as though she was preparing herself to tell a story of a painful memory.

"I knew someone like you. Hesitant for treatment for the fear they lose what they treasure so much." Meredy's eyes gaze far away and Juvia could tell she was lost in the past. Her story told of a close friend she held dear to her heart.

A close friend whom she thought she would be able to get through huge milestones in life with. That is until one day, she found her kneeling on the ground with her arms barely holding herself up. When she got closer, she was shocked. Her friend was throwing up bright, yellow flowers.

It took a while before her friend would tell her what was happening and that was when Meredy learnt of the term, Hanahaki. Like Juvia, the girl did not tell anyone, not even her parents. Even with several attempts to convince her to go for the surgery, all her efforts were futile.

"She only had medications which slowed down the progression, every day you could see her condition worsen. At one point of time, she was bedridden, her parents tried to persuade her, but she was so, so stubborn," her voice wavered slightly, "And in the end-" Meredy paused and the bluenette sitting next to her could only place a hand on her arm for comfort. She did not need to finish her sentence for Juvia to know what has become of that friend.

The girl dabbed away a single tear that strayed down her cheek, "This wasn't supposed to be about me," she chuckled dryly, hiding her expression by looking at the other direction.

Juvia kept quiet and they both stayed silent. A gust of breeze past them, as if to comfort their tired hearts and minds. When the pink-headed girl felt better, she sniffled and turned to face the new acquaintance she made for a reason she detested.

"I want you to understand, Juvia. Even if it's not for yourself, think of what the person you love would feel if you refused treatment for them." Her rose-coloured eyes were boring into her, trying to fixate the understanding so another person would not have to receive the same devastation as _she_ did. "Being on that end is more painful than knowing they've forgotten you, because it feels as if they loved you more than they ever loved themselves and it hurts when we realised how oblivious we were to it."

She paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath.

"I can't make the decisions for you; however, I want you to treasure yourself. As a complete stranger or as a new friend you just made, I want you to love yourself. There are times to put yourself and this is one of them."

In her eyes, Juvia could see the amount of pain she had experienced and to this date, it was as if it was only yesterday when that happened. Without a word, she gently tugged Meredy into a hug, her arms wrapping tightly around the girl.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, giving her soothing rubs on her back. "I'm sorry, you had to go through that."

There were no other words exchanged as they provided a sense of comfort for each other.

When Juvia returned to the dorm that evening, she thought back on Meredy's words. She wondered about how Gray would feel if he found out. Although she has thought about it many times, she still thought about how her family and friends would react.

"Juv?"

The bluenette jumped, looking at her closed door before glancing around her room frantically. Did she just hallucinate Gray's voice? In the process of telling herself that it was probably just her imagination, there was a knock on her door, causing her to jerk up from where she sat on her bed.

"Juv? It's me."

She was not hallucinating. It was definitely not because she has been thinking about him too much to be imagining things like this. She could hear Lisanna's muffled voice outside the door and quickly got up to open the door.

"Ah, there she is." Lisanna winked at her from behind Gray, "I saw that you were a little down after the test today, I told Gray to bring some ice cream over to cheer you up."

To that, the mentioned ice cream deliverer rolled his eyes. "You say it as if I'm the only person who could buy ice cream for Juvia to make her not sad."

"The word you're looking for is happy, dumbass." She raised a brow as she stared at the bag in his hand. Gray could only roll his eyes once more, annoyed that Juvia was correcting his English yet again.

"I wish you would stop that." Gray pointed out.

Juvia could only reply, "I wish you would stop sounding like Natsu when he can't win." For a moment, for Juvia, it was as if she had returned to the times before she discovered her feelings for Gray. She could act normally around him without the need to put up a wall between them, just like nothing ever happened. The so-called prank she played on him was long forgotten.

Lisanna could only giggle at their childish banter before announcing she was going to her room to finish up on her work, leaving the two to argue in Juvia's room.

The bag Gray brought was filled with several pints of ice cream, flavours ranging from strawberry, vanilla, to pistachio and cookie dough. The entire bag might as well have been an ice cream store on its own.

"Why did you get so many?" Juvia asked, leading Gray towards the mini fridge in the corner of her room where she stocked up on her favourite frozen treat. Coincidentally, her little stash was reaching its bottom line with only a chocolate ice-cream bar left. "One-pint costs at least eight dollars, you're going to go broke if you spend so excessively." She all but nagged, though she was glad for her fridge being filled to the brim yet again.

Gray only shrugged as he planted himself on the side of her bed, "Hey, I wouldn't hold back on spending if my best friend needed some kind of comforting because she does not have a boyfriend of her own to do that."

He had to hit her right where it hurts.

She ignored what he said, picking out the flavour she wanted to have. Her fingers danced across the pints and landed on chocolate-flavoured one. Seeing what she has chosen, Gray groaned. "I knew it. I should've just bought chocolate instead. I brought you a variety and you still chose chocolate."

Rummaging through her drawer, Juvia pulled out two metal spoons she kept in her drawer meant for her nighttime snacking, she handed one over to Gray. "It's not that I don't like the other flavours, if there is chocolate, I'll choose chocolate easily. I like all flavours of ice cream, thank you very much."

The frozen treat in her hand was thawed enough from Gray's journey to the dorm, as soon as she dipped her spoon into the chocolate goodness, the soft creamy dessert melted in her mouth instantly. A sound of satisfaction came from Juvia as she licked her lips.

Unbeknownst to her, Gray's neck was flushing red while watching her. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. "Don't make that kind of sound," he mumbled but was unheard as Juvia concentrated on the sweet treat in her hand.

Rather than fight for the ice cream, Gray placed the spoon down on the desk, declining her offer when she tilted the container towards him. According to Lisanna, Juvia had seemed down recently. Even after that day when she came over to their place, Gray felt the same thing. Something about her just seemed off.

"So, how was the test today? I don't believe you can mess it up that bad," he asked, supporting his body with both arms placed behind him on the bed. He observed the girl carefully, waiting to see if there was something she was hiding. Instead, she merely shook her head, shoving another spoonful of chocolate into her mouth. It was her way of not saying anything in times like this.

"You'll do fine. You always do," He commented casually, unaware of the effect it had on Juvia.

She paused in her ice cream binging for a moment before taking another scoop, the cold treat filling her entire mouth before-

"-Ack! Brain freeze!" Juvia yelped, gripping on her head with one hand.

Rolling his eyes, Gray grabbed the ice cream and spoon away from her other hand, opening his mouth to show how she could stop the freezing pain in her head. "Puss your dongue akainst the loof," he said in a clumsy manner, demonstrating and giving instructions at the same time.

Watching his struggling face, Juvia began to laugh through the brain freeze. His face was distorted, and his voice sounded nasally from how he was holding his nose down to keep his head positioned well. Her laugh was loud, but it was not as sharp as Claire's, that made it more pleasant to the ears he noted. Gray smiled softly upon seeing her smile. It has been a while since he last saw her smile like this. A genuine smile, not the one she used to assure everyone.

"Puss your dongue akainst the loof," she imitated, even going cross-eyed to taunt him even more. She may have grown up quite a lot, but her childish nature remained inside her. After many years, she still laughed at his antics like it was the funniest thing she has ever seen.

The room was filled with laughter and in the other room, Lisanna smiled. Both her and Mirajane were girls who enjoyed bringing couples together, it would not be surprising if they opened a Matchmaking Agency along with Elfman, their brother, as a success story. Even though Juvia insisted she only sees Gray as her best friend, she could tell in her eyes there was more than that. When Gray announced he was dating Claire, it was a shock to the Strauss Siblings.

Also, not to mention after what happened at the party, Lisanna was hesitant to call Gray over. She was unaware if the two had sorted things out. From the look on her roommate's face before she left the party, it was clear her feelings had been hurt. Of course, when she decided to text him to come over to cheer him up, she added words saying he needed to make up for what he said last week. Even though he had apologised, Gray also agreed, deciding to get more than just one pint of ice cream to cheer her up. He still felt a little guilty.

Growing up with Juvia, he had got to know how fragile her heart actually was, no matter how many times she insist she is fine. He thinks it is a habit she got from being brought up at the orphanage and it just stuck with her throughout her growing years.

The frozen sweet dessert was something Juvia grew to love when they were kids. She never got to taste anything like this in the orphanage, so when she got a chance to, just like the hot chocolate in her home, they became her favourites immediately. Perhaps, that is where her love for the rich flavour came from.

The crinkle in her eyes and how she threw her head back when she laughed, Gray took notice. He smiled, relieved she was not looking as down as before, unaware of the feelings that were beginning to stir within him. He was always a little dense when it came to things like this.

"By the way, did you hear-," Juvia brought up the topic about her brother and his girlfriend. It would seem they have been spending a lot of time after she came back to the dorm. The big burly man was a sucker for the short girl whom he labelled 'shrimp'. The girl elaborated on what had happened and mentioned that they were going on a date after Gajeel ended work that day. Lucy had told her that Levy said they would be watching a play, and the Gajeel Redfox that Juvia knew, hated plays. He was always a rock-concert-kinda guy and hated mushy, romance plays filled with unrealistic scenes.

"Like which man in his right mind, would drink poison to play dead and then result in his girlfriend dying for him?" She imitated Gajeel's boisterous voice, invoking a laugh from her best friend. "You know him, it's so unnatural he would do that." She giggled, "Gajeel is whipped for Levy and he doesn't want to admit it." Deciding that she has had enough ice cream for the evening, she closed the lid and stored the container in the mini fridge, not bothering to ask if Gray wanted any after he declined her offer again mid-conversation.

They then fell into silence, both resting against the headboard. She realised he had been silent the whole time and wondered if something was bothering him.

"Did something happen?"

Her question was unexpected and out of the blue that he jumped slightly when her eyes landed on him. There had been ice hockey practice earlier that day. Of course, that bastard had turned up. The entire practice ended up with both him and Gray being lectured by their Coach because the two of them were being immature. Claire- She was busy as usual despite all the time he always makes for her. The times they spend together were decreasing bit by bit and this week, he has yet to see her.

His silence seemed to answer her question and she made a guess. "Don't tell me you fought with that guy- what's his name?" Juvia asked, genuinely having forgotten his name.

"It doesn't matter." He would never tell her that he was exchanging verbal insults like elementary kids or sending subtle jabs by choosing not to pass him the puck. That bastard did the same as well, resulting in both receiving punishments to clean up after practice.

"You shouldn't argue with someone like that. Find out the full story from him as well, not just Claire," she suggested but decided to stop when his expression soured.

"She would not lie to me." He told her in a distant voice and stood up from where he sat. "I should get going, rest well, Juv."

And that was his way of saying there were no further room for discussion over that topic. The door was shut with a soft click and Juvia was slightly relieved that it was not with a slam because that would indicate she had made him mad.

With a sigh, she got out of her room to see him go before cleaning up.

—

It was a warm afternoon and Juvia got out of the shower room facility with her gym bag over one shoulder. With her free hands, she dried her hair as much as possible with a towel.

_"Your timings have been slowing lately, Juvia, if there is any distractions, I would like you to get rid of them as soon as possible. At this rate, you won't be able to do well in the swim meet. My hopes are all on you."_

Those were the words of her coach during her swimming practice earlier. It was not like she could not tell that she was slowing down either, the disease she had had affected her in a way she had expected but did not think it would happen that quickly.

The pressure from her coach was not helping in any way with the amount of stress Juvia had accumulated on her own. She tossed the damp towel into her bag and decided on jogging her way back to the dorm. As she jogged, she entered the path to the place where she had just met Meredy the day before. Despite the fact that it was located outside the lecture hall, the place had little to no people at this timing of the day.

In her mind, Juvia wondered why it was so sparse when it was the perfect place to read a book or take a quick nap. She kept herself at a steady pace, about halfway through the park. Just as her foot landed on the concrete path once again, she hunched forward, barely keeping herself upright and steady.

The same constrictive feeling, the same pain in her chest.

The tracking of each episode in her journal, there was not a steady pattern. Rather, the episodes occurred randomly with a few hours difference between each one. The increased frequencies were just a mere four to six hours stretch in-between. One thing she had noticed, there were times whereby she would have an episode in two hours, rather than this estimated time. They were abrupt and strayed away from the journal she tracked religiously. She could not think of a reason other than the fact that these occurrences happened after being around Gray.

Although the park was empty of anyone, Juvia stumbled her way over to a tree, coincidentally the same tree both Meredy and her sat under. Crouching over, petals of maroon and a dark purple landed on the grass. It seemed to mock her as strings of saliva connected to the floral pieces remained intact. Once she was done, she swiped across her mouth with the back of her hand, cringing internally at what she had just done.

Using her feet, she kicked over dried fallen leaves over the mess she left. No one needed to see that. She decided to walk back instead of a jog, taking the time to recover. Her lungs hurt to even breathe and she willed herself to stay upright, eventually ending up in the East Wing where her dorm was located.

She weaved her way past dorm blocks when she stopped in her tracks all of a sudden. In a distance, a familiar black-haired female was leaning against a tall, redhead male in a tank top had caught her eye. The high cheekbones and wide, green eyes confirmed her doubts whether if it was indeed Claire. From where she stood, she could see the two but not the other way, they could only see a bunch of trees and bushes from where they stood.

Even if her eyes had been bad to mistake another raven-headed girl with green eyes as Claire, the words written across the back of the jersey she wore was clear enough. Her fingers curled into a tight fist as she saw the white letters printed clearly on the jersey.

_Fullbuster, 13._ How many jerseys did Gray even lent her?

She debated between taking a picture or calling Gray right away, the anger rising within her steadily like mercury in a thermometer. She willed her legs to stay put, curbing her urge to rush forth and confront that woman.

When they kissed and exchanged their saliva and DNA, something inside Juvia almost snapped. The other day, she had indeed gotten involved with Justin and threw all of the blame on him, playing victim. How can anyone even be capable of doing such deeds?

Rummaging through her bag, she shifted herself so as to remain as hidden as possible. Her fingers felt around for her phone and fished it out ever so quickly, taking several photos of the scene playing out. Just as she tapped on the button one last time, the two disappeared into a room located on the ground floor.

It was definitely not Claire's dorm because according to Gray, she has a place near the University. At the thought of what could be happening behind the closed doors, Juvia dialed Gray's number immediately. When he did not answer, she could only stomp her feet in anxiety.

"Juvia! Where are you going?" Lisanna's voice stopped her from charging forth. The girl was a few feet away, dressed in her usual tank top and skirt, in her hand was a folder filled with papers._ She must have just ended her lecture._

The bluenette put a finger in front of her lips, shushing her and she gestured for her friend to come closer whilst still remaining in hiding.

"Why are we hiding?" Lisanna whispered, influenced by Juvia's secrecy. The latter peeked out of the tree they were behind before turning to face her. From the look on Juvia's face, Lisanna could tell it was not good news. Especially not when she was biting on her lip so hard, it seemed as though they were about to bleed.

"Hey, hey. Calm down. You're going to bleed," she told her, gesturing towards her lips where Juvia could taste a hint of blood at the tip of her tongue. A sound of frustration left her, and she pulled up the pictures she took earlier to show Lisanna.

The realisation hit the platinum blonde instantly and her expression darkened.

"So, the first time really wasn't a misunderstanding," she mumbled, her mind throwing back images of who she saw going to the backroom. Clearly, the little show she put on was more than enough to convince Gray and everyone else she was innocent.

The room occupants seemed to have no intentions of leaving. It was obvious what they could be doing in the room. At the thought of that, Juvia gritted her teeth once more, trudging forth when Lisanna tugged her back. "No, we have to think about this."

Unable to understand what they had to think about, Juvia let out a strangled noise, "What do we have to think about? We have her cheating-ass right there!" For the first time in a while, Lisanna saw the feisty personality in Juvia return, most likely that part of her came from the pair of males in her house. This side of her, she only showed when she was extremely angry or when she was drunk. In this case, it is clear which one was it. Though, acting on impulse would be more likely to backfire.

"We would need more evidence."

—

"So, anyone wants to tell me why I have to dress like this?" Cana looked down at her body dressed in only a blue crop top that may very well pass off as a bra. Her midriff was exposed completely with her low-waisted jeans to pair with her top. Her toned abdomen was on full display to everyone else.

Lisanna rolled her eyes, "Don't act like you don't dress like this on a daily basis outside of class, you'd even lose the top when you're drunk- mph!" The brunette slapped her hand over the mouth of the babbling girl. Cana had always been a believer in showing off what your mama gave you. In her case, outfits like this has been her go-to until she entered University and was told it violated the rules.

"There's people who are practically wearing a thong and pasties, but I am going against the rules like this," she huffed with arms crossed. "So why do I have to wear this? I'm not going to risk getting a third strike! The old man back home is always on my neck about how I have two strikes when he didn't get any. News flash, he never attended University!" She ranted as the three of them made their way down the street.

Truth be told, they were on their way to a house party, Lisanna knew about it through a guy she met at the game. His name was Bickslow and based on that crazy tattoo on his tongue, she could guess he was one of the partygoers. This house party was not just any typical parties that Juvia avoided attending, it was the very one hosted by the redhead she saw the other day. Of course, that would mean there would be a high possibility of Claire appearing.

The host's name was Eric. He is not involved in any clubs, but his physique and personality was enough to make him well-known amongst people in his year. Which is the reason why they were attending the party. If Claire went after guys like him and Gray, she would definitely turn up at the party.

It would also explain both Lisanna and Juvia's outfits for the night. Lisanna wore a simple dress that hugged her curves softly, enough to look the part and yet, comfortable enough to move around in. As for Juvia, she fidgeted in the sweater dress she was forced to wear after being told that jeans and a shirt would not be appropriate. The dress was grey and had a half-neck collar, sleeves that reached her elbows. The length ended above her knees but that was not the reason why she was uncomfortable.

The dress was designed to have a triangular cut above the chest area, amplifying on the volume she has there. The top of her blue bra was exposed and according to her friend, it was supposed to look like this. Her cheeks were flushed from how exposed she felt. "I would really prefer if we had a wardrobe change right now." She tugged on the dress, trying to cover up as much as she could.

Cana waved her off, "Nonsense! You look gorgeous! I'm afraid you might stand out more than you should though." She reaches up with one hand to Juvia's chest only to be slapped away quickly.

"Cana!" Her face is tomato red at this point and the brunette decided she would stop teasing her. "Come on, we have a leg spreader to catch before dear Gray finds out the other way."

The house was located in a neighbourhood that looked rather lavish. Was this the kind of place that the popular kids were always at?

"Hey, Lisanna, you made it!" A man with purple hair came towards them and Juvia spotted a tattoo on his tongue as he spoke. His eyes then fell on the two behind the platinum blonde, seemingly to just realise their presence. "You must be Lisanna's friends! Hi, I'm Bickslow. You can call me Bix though."

Cana nodded with her mouth slightly agape as she witness Lisanna's face turning red. It has been way too long since the latter has had a boyfriend and she has her eyes on a guy with a tongue tattoo. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but Cana always thought Lisanna would prefer guys that were goody-two shoes or Mama's boy. The latter is lowkey wild and Cana was not going to let go of that fact after they leave this place.

When they entered the house, the three were in awe at how big the place was. The size of the living room was probably triple the size of Juvia's. The lighting was dim, but she could still make out the faces hidden in the crowd. She observed the room, spotting a hallway that led to a staircase upstairs.

As expected, the place was crowded. Bickslow brought them to a corner of the room where there was an empty couch and a table of empty plastic cups accompanied with glass bottles of alcohol.

"Help yourself with the drinks, I think the host himself has gone to get more of them." He tells them and was about to head to the kitchen, but not before bending down to whisper something into Lisanna's ear. Her cheeks were flushed, and she nodded stiffly before hiding her face the moment he was not looking.

Swinging an arm over Lisanna's shoulders, Cana did the same gesture as the guy before did, leaning in towards her ear, "Well, well, well. Was there another reason why we came here?" She glanced at Juvia who only shook her head in response, a small smile on her lips. At least one of them had luck in that department, whereas she was trying to catch Gray's girlfriend cheating.

It was ridiculous she had thought at first. Following Claire in order to catch her cheating? She has done it twice in total, and honestly, Juvia hoped there would not be any more. It was illegal to follow her around as well, not to mention, she did not have all the time in the world to do that. Even if she can't be a lover towards Gray, she is still his best friend. Yet, that is where her loyalty comes in. She would find out how much this girl really loves Gray, how much of it was real and how much of it was pretense.

"So? Tell us, where did you and Mr. Wild Tongue meet? How did you meet? What's the story? Have you kissed him?" Cana blurted out questions without a filter on her mouth. Her curiosity begun to dig deeper, while Lisanna's eyes jump to Juvia for help, the bluenette was focused on searching the crowd.

She spotted the redhead first with his group of friends and a bunch of alcohol in their hands. The attendees cheered as he handed them out on his way in.

If Eric was here, Claire would appear any time soon. Or was she already there and she has yet to see her?

Then a flash of long raven hair passed her vision and she stood up almost instantly, interrupting Cana's interrogation. "What is it Juvia?"

Her blue eyes followed the girl who went through the hallway and up the stairs. Not a moment later, Eric and his friends separated as they gave him dirty remarks about getting laid that night loudly over the music. The guy merely smirked and went in the same direction she saw Claire go earlier.

"She went upstairs with him." Was all she said before she moved out of her seat and tried to get past the crowd of people. Her friends attempted to follow but was soon blocked when a couple of drunkards fell over in front of them.

"Is she going alone?" Lisanna asked, anxiety creeping in when the bluenette was seemingly weaving through the crowd at an alarming speed past the living room. She attempted to follow her but was constantly blocked by people.

Mumbling 'excuse me's and 'sorry's, Juvia pushed past the couple making out in the middle of the path. She barely made it to the hallway when a tall, buff brunette in a tight white tee and skinny jeans stopped her.

Her eyes were wide as she stared at the stranger who was holding two cups in his hand. He was standing too close for her comfort. The sleazy eyes of his running up and down her body made her want to dig a hole to hide in. She was going to blame Lisanna after all this for giving her such a dress.

"I haven't seen you before, did Eric bring you here?" He leaned over and was almost caging her between him and the wall. Juvia frowned, trying to get away but he only moved closer, his body almost touching hers. "Hey, hey, where are you going, you have me right here," he chuckled deeply, as if she would've had a realisation that he was worth her attention.

"Excuse me," she said, glaring at him. His cologne was mixing with the alcohol coming off him and the smell itself was not very pleasant. He remained unmoved, sniffing her perfume ever so slightly.

"You smell wonderful, why don't you and I-," he started and Juvia readied her knee to kick him where the sun does not shine like Gajeel taught her. Just as she was about to do so, a hand cut through the both of them.

She followed the hand to see Gray, almost jumping in shock when she saw him.

What was he doing here?

His angered face and intense eyes were enough to kill if possible. He must've talked to Lisanna and Cana before going in this direction. That must be it! Juvia felt some sort of a relief when the guy finally backed away, both hands up in the air. "Hey, man, sorry, didn't know she was attached."

As though nothing had happened, he walked away without an apology and Gray lunged froth to grab him only to be held back by Juvia. He looked back at her with a frown, "What are you doing here?" He eyed her dressing and immediately glanced away to prevent his eyes from going below her face.

"That's not important! You heard what Cana and Lisanna told you right? I just saw them go up the stairs, come on, we got to catch them red-handed." Juvia grabbed his hand without a thought and started dragging him in that direction.

"What are you talking about? Hold on," he pulled back and removed his outer shirt, he then placed it over her shoulders. Unsatisfied with how much it did not cover, he turned her to face him, tugging the openings close so it could shield her from the predatory eyes of many before. How did not realise the attention she has attracted?

From the moment he entered the house, there were talks about a blue-haired beauty. How oblivious was she to not notice the eyes on her?

More concerned with showing Gray what she cannot simply tell him, she barely reacted to his action of giving her his shirt and tugged him to go upstairs.

"Where exactly are we going and who are we catching red-handed?" He asked but was told to be quiet when they reached the top. Her azure orbs jumped from door-to-door, trying to figure out which one the adulterous pair may be. Just then, she caught the sound of Claire's laughter at the end of the corridor and perhaps it was because she had Gray with her now that she went forth without hesitation.

Her fingers grazed the door handle when Gray tugged on her hand. "Uh, it sounds like a couple is having fun in there, we probably shouldn't, you know," he whispered, attempting to pull her away. She shook her head, a look of defiance on her face.

Before he could stop her, she pushed down on the handle and not meaning to, she thrust the door open with a loud thud. The couple kissing with barely any clothes on the bed did not seem to notice till a moment later. Eric casually stood up, blocking the girl he was with behind him, his shirtless body on full show as he searched around for his missing t-shirt.

"I didn't think we would have another two join us, sorry, I don't do threesomes-, or four for that matter." He smirked in her direction, "But I wouldn't mind if the lady joins."

At that comment, Gray found himself filled with anger, his fingers curled into a tight fist. Just as he was about to say something unrefined back, the figure behind Eric peeked out and he felt the pressure in his hands drop before coming back at full force.

There she was, unclothed, her bra unhooked with a hand holding it up against her chest. The tight body con dress Juvia saw her in earlier was in a messy pile on the floor just a foot away from her. Her jet-black hair that was always in a perfect high bun or ponytail was disheveled, a clear sign that someone had been running their hands through it.

"G-Gray baby, you're here."

The bluenette shifted her eyes to him, all of a sudden, she felt as though she should not have interfered. It was not her business but another voice in her head argued she was looking out for her best friend. Another whispered that maybe it was all for her own gain, if they broke up, she would have a chance.

"This is what you wanted me to see, Juv?" His voice was low and sounded empty of any feelings behind it.

She held onto his arm to explain how it all started, what she had seen, why she wanted him to see but it was futile when he shrugged her off, not allowing her a chance to say a word.

"You should leave," he says without looking at her.

It was then Juvia thought that she heard the sound of her heart had broken into a million pieces. She glanced at the other two in the room, though Eric seemed nonchalant about the situation, Claire had that smirk on her face yet again and Juvia longed to rip it off. She parted her lips to say another word, but her breath got caught in her throat as an ache begun to develop in her chest.

Without another word, she removes the shirt Gray gave her and places it between his hands gently before leaving swiftly.

She could barely see his expression as her eyes were blurry with tears.

_Is this what you get when you long for something you should not? _

***Author's Note***

**Wait, wait, wait, wait! Before you bash or scold Gray for what he said. There is a reason for it! It will be in the next chapter. **

**I realized I did not publish or post anything for Gruvia week T.T I have some drafts for the one-shots but I have yet to finish any. I doubt they adhere to the rules as well, but I might be publishing another one soon. If possible, do leave me a vote/comment/review/follow before you go 3**

**I do read comments/reviews from time to time, although I can't reply to all of them but I just want to let you know, thank you for sticking with my work and anticipating the next chapter after each update. It gives me a lot of motivation! **

**Thank you for reading!**

**-Smiles: )**


	8. VI: Misfits and Timings

**Author's note at the end! Hope you'll enjoy this new chapter :)**

—

_"Come on Juv! We're going to miss the bus!" Gray yelled, buttoning up his shirt while he ran with his satchel slung loosely over his torso. Behind him, a huffing Juvia tried to catch up in her school uniform, holding down her skirt as the wind teased it endlessly._

_The two braids she had done in the morning was coming undone from how hard they were running. She would've just tied it in a ponytail had she known they'd be running late._

_Ahead of her, the raven-haired boy had suddenly stopped, trying to do his buttons while waiting for his best friend. Wearing his school shirt has always been a challenge since he loved removing it right after having it on and the buttons were so goddamn hard to put together._

_"We're going to be late!" He exclaimed anxiously and begun dashing once again after she had barely caught up to him._

_"It isn't my fault you were the one who woke up late!" She managed to yell and regretted doing so when the breath she took was wasted on yelling. Her torso hunched over, holding up with two arms on her knees. "I- I can't, caaahh!" She shrieked when her best friend grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her along._

_"We can't be late otherwise who knows what Mrs. Chamberlin will do to us!" He tells her, pulling her along. Their normal route to the bus stop seemed longer than usual and it only appeared that way whenever they were running late._

_"If I remember correctly," she swallowed, trying to match up to Gray's speed. "You're the reason why we're late all the time." The latter's tendencies to oversleep always resulted in their morning runs for the bus. _

_"Hey, sleep is important, Juv." He told her as they went down the street. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally spotted the bus stop a few feet away. "Come on, we're almost there!"_

_Juvia took another step forth but tripped on a shoelace that had come loose. Shutting her eyes, she braced herself for the concrete ground, instead, she was tugged upwards and landed on something soft on the ground._

_A groan came from beneath her and she lifted her head to see a mop of black hair on the person's head. Gasping, she hurried to get up by supporting her upper body with her hands, only for Gray to groan even more when she pressed on his chest unknowingly. "Please don't do that." He coughed out, his face wincing in discomfort. _

_She quickly found support on the concrete ground, pushing herself away from him._

_From afar, she could hear an elderly woman cooed. "Ah, young love."_

_Her face flushed beet red and she rushed to her feet, almost knocking over her best friend who was in the midst of sitting up. Was it just her or was the morning weather hotter than usual? Why was her heart racing so quickly? _

_"Let's go, the bus will be here any minute, we have to hurry-," she tried to distract herself but was stopped by a hand around her ankle. Her blue eyes stared in surprise at the boy on the ground. He gave her an annoyed look as he gestured to her undone laces._

_Gray rolled his eyes and took the matter into his own hands when she continued to stare at him. Working his hands in an experienced manner, he did a quick knot that was secured and tight. _

_"If you fall again, I'm going to have to cushion your fall again." He grumbled. Hearing that, Juvia's racing heart could not stop. Her neck was heating up and she had to look away, not wanting him to see. _

_"All done!- Hey, the bus is here!" He jumped to his feet, grabbing her arm without a second thought before making a sprint for it._

It might have been then that Juvia found herself deeply entangled with her feelings for Gray.

With closed eyes, she tried to stop the memories from overpowering her thoughts. The more they replayed in her mind, the more the tears she was shedding would not stop.

The good times she remembered were being replaced with the present times that she wanted to erase in her head. They rarely fought, as far as she can remember. The only times they did was when she made the decision to date a boy in high school whom he disliked. Another time would be way when they were younger and immature. As of now, the current situation was way different than those simple tiffs.

_This was a mess._

Juvia tilted her head back to see the cloudy night sky, not one star in sight.

She swiped at her face, trying to rid of the evidence that she was crying, ignoring the fact that her foundation was getting rubbed off with that action. All Juvia could think of was to get back to the dorm. She went down the street where she came with the girls, stalking down the path in heels that nipped at her skin.

Even when the truth was right in front of him, he took Claire's side. To Juvia, it did not seem like there was anything that could waver his blind love for Claire.

Her heart ached. Was it the fact that he was that blindly in love with her to that extent, were their years of friendship just nothing to him? Or was it the fact that it was not her that received such dedicated attention that even a mistake is brushed off?

_Couldn't he,_ she thought bitterly,_ couldn't he spare some of that blind love to her?_

_This is crazy,_ she chuckled dryly.

Regardless, if Claire was never in the picture and it was some other girl, Juvia would've still done the same if his partner was being intimate with some other guy. It was never for her personal gain despite the voice at the back of her head saying that it was the perfect timing.

She barely noticed her nails leaving crescent marks all over her palm under the dull pain pulled her out of her clouded mind.

A bright light came into her sight, the prominent yellow paint-coated metal fully visible when it approached. Juvia threw a hand to flag it down, only to find herself collapsing against the sidewalk, she had been so lost in thoughts to not notice an attack coming on. Her knees scrapped on the uneven concrete but the superficial pain on her skin was easily overpowered by the one wrecking from the inside.

It was like a repeat of the day of her confession, only this time, the pain worsened. She was gagging over the grass, her eyes blurry with tears as she pictured how someone would see her from afar. A pathetic party girl, ruined make-up, drunk and puking on the soil. In the dark, she could not make out the colours she ejected, nor did she want to know.

It was obvious what they would be.

When the gagging stopped and she could finally breathe again, Juvia sat on the ground, appearing defeated. Her fingers reached to remove the heels she was forced to wear, slinging them over her fingertips as she stood up to walk barefooted.

The taxi she saw had long driven by, forgoing her lowly presence in the dark.

_How worse can this night get?_

—

When Juvia got back to the dorm, both Cana and Lisanna had been waiting for her return.

"Finally!"

"Where did you go?"

"What happened? We called but you didn't answer,"

"Why are you all tattered up like that?"

They bombarded her with questions, eyeing her state of mess. Not only was her make-up ruined, the dress she borrowed from Lisanna had a bunch of leaves and tiny twigs hanging at the end. She managed to get a taxi after walking for 20 minutes, if she hadn't then, she would've had to walk all the way back to the dorm. Who knew what she would have ended up like by then?

Juvia pulled out her phone that had been sitting in her purse the entire time, a flat battery icon flashed on the screen when she tried to turn it on. The device slipped out of her hand onto the carpeted ground and Juvia bent to retrieve it. Her face winced in pain, forgetting about her scraped knees.

"Juvia, are you alright?" Cana asked before spotting the cuts and scrapes decorating her once smooth, creamy legs. Lisanna immediately went to retrieve the first-aid box in her room.

Both girls had no idea of what had played out upstairs at the house party. When Gray entered the house, they were hidden in the crowd and barely caught the end of his hair strand. After that, they decided to wait outside for Juvia, but she never appeared. Thinking that perhaps Gray was having a hard time processing Claire's lies, they went on back first, assuming that Juvia was busy comforting her best friend.

Who knew that moments after they had left that Juvia would stumble out of the place with her heart shattered in pieces.

They led Juvia to a chair, concerned with her expressionless face. As Lisanna cleaned the wounds and stuck on bandages to protect them, several questions ran through her mind. Did their plan fail? What happened? They had evidence on Claire right? Did she show it to Gray? What did he say?

There were so many questions they wanted to ask but they were stopped when Juvia simply shook her head. "I'm sorry about the dress," she says in a low tone to her roommate who only told her that it did not matter, after all, she gave her the dress.

Her eyes looked empty, soulless almost, to a point that Cana felt herself shiver. She gripped onto Juvia's hands, shocked at how cold they were. "Were you out in the cold the whole time?"

The blue-haired girl slowly brought her attention to where her friend was holding onto her hands. The night was cold, yet she barely notice the temperature nipping at her skin. The only thing that felt cold to her was the tone of Gray's voice and the look on his face when he told her to leave.

"I couldn't get a taxi."

"Where did you get these wounds?"

Juvia stared blankly at the clean bandages on her knees and feet. "I tripped."

Her short answers were barely answering the two friends' answer and they were worried about what might have done such a blow to Juvia. Guilt crept behind them when they realised that they should have waited for their friend.

"We're sorry we left first. We thought you were fine with Gray there," Lisanna started, an apologetic expression written clearly on her face.

"Also, it was getting way too crowded and Mr. Wild Tongue was missing," Cana added, only to be slapped on the shoulder by the light-haired girl.

Juvia shook her head once more, blinking as if to regain herself. She avoids the gaze of her friends and got up from her chair. "It's fine. It doesn't make a difference."

_It doesn't make a difference at all._

"I'll go wash up." She ignored the stinging pain on both legs when she stood.

Worry filled both friends as they watched her go back to her room sluggishly. Her door closed with a thud, followed by a brief moment of silence before she resurfaced with a set of pajamas in her hands. She then disappeared into the bathroom where there was the sound of water hitting the bathroom floor, blocking out any noise from the outside.

"What do we do? Should we call Gray?" Lisanna asked. The girl next to her shrugged, unsure of what would be the next best course of action.

The water was running at full strength, the spray aiding with Juvia's aim of getting rid of any dirt left on her. The fall into the damp grass patch was the last thing she needed and yet it was served to her with a pile of flowers.

When she stepped out of the shower, she used the side of her palm to swipe of the vapour on the mirror. Her eyes searched the reflection and spotted a dark red stain at the corner of her lip. It was definitely not from the red lipstick she put on that evening. The metallic taste was a giveaway as to what she had ejected from her system.

She felt so drained. So tired.

She shut her eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath to stop her bottom lip from trembling.

She was exhausted, whether physically or emotionally.

A good night sleep may be just what she needed.

The next day, perhaps it was due to the previous night's incident or it was her body clock that Juvia woke up at 6 in the morning before her alarm. Her tired eyes wandered to the window where the sky was still dark. Rather than try and go back to sleep, Juvia got out of bed and threw on a hoodie over her t-shirt and sweatpants. The morning weather was chilly enough to make her shiver.

She glanced at her phone that was completely flat out, having forgotten to charge it when she went to bed last night.

_It doesn't matter anyways._ She thought to herself, no one would be looking for her unless it was an emergency.

Her roommate was still deep in slumber, enjoying the freedom the weekend gave her to sleep in. Choosing to leave on an empty stomach, Juvia packed the books she would need in a tote bag and slung it over her shoulder. When she looked at the time again, it was half past six and she got out a sticky note from her drawer, scribbling down with a pen.

_**I'll be at my house till Tuesday, see you on Wednesday. **_  
_**Love, Juvia.**_

The drive back to her house was quiet, she normally would have music on when she drove, but she did not feel like having it on that morning. After a quick stop by the grocery store, Juvia went on her way back home.

The house was quiet, after all, it was a Saturday morning. Lugging her body upstairs without creating too much of a ruckus, Juvia crashed into her bed. She knocked out like a light right as soon as her head hit the pillow.

It was a dreamless nap.

The next time she awoke, she saw that it was two in the afternoon. The thoughts of the night before trudged forth, but she pushed them to the back of her mind. She did not want to think about it. A soft groan left her when she sat upright, there was a pounding ache in her head, as if there was a hammer banging at her skull. She rummaged through her drawers, finding for the painkillers she always kept in her room.

There was a knock on the door before her brother entered, dressed casually in a grey sleeveless shirt. "Are you finally awake, sleeping beauty?"

She did not answer him, placing the tablet she found right at the back of her tongue as she swallowed it dry. The bitter taste lingering made her face crinkle.

Gajeel frowned, "Are you feeling unwell?" He was next to her bed in a few steps and placed a hand on her forehead. Juvia shook his hand off, running her finger through her bird nest-like hair.

"I'm fine. I slept too much," she tells him, rubbing any sleep left in her eyes. It was not a lie, she should've only napped for a short while, but she slept for six hours, missing both breakfast and lunch. On cue, her stomach growled and Gajeel made an amused sound.

He eyed her before flicking her forehead softly, earning him a glare in response. "The old man made food, we kept some for you for when you finally woke up." He looked around her room and saw her limping lightly on her feet to the table. Narrowing his crimson eyes, he spotted the bandage stuck onto the sole of her food. "What's with the bandages? Where did you go last night?"

Juvia glanced at her feet before grabbing a hairbrush to smoothen out her messy head. "I was just out with Lisanna and Cana. I didn't see where I was going, and I tripped." She left out the part that it was house party and what had transpired at it. There was no need to mention it. She wondered if Gray had returned back to his house last night or stayed with Claire at the party-

_It's none of your business, Juvia. _She chided herself.

"Here." Gajeel's voice called her out of her thoughts, pulling her back to reality. He handed her a first-aid kit that Levy made him carry around; it was something about him getting random cuts anywhere when working on car mechanics. Juvia grabbed a few bandages and handed the kit back to him.

Frowning, her brother watched as she removed the old bandage on her foot, "Will you be able to swim with that?" Her swimming practices were a weekly routine and it did not seem like these wounds on her feet would heal soon.

Juvia nodded. It was not the first time she had a superficial wound and dived back into the water. Unless it was extremely uncomfortable or painful, she would just slap on a waterproof strip and carry on.

Gajeel offered to help her but she declined, "I can do it, I'm a big girl now, remember?" She joked.

Rolling his eyes, the older sibling pretended to be surprised, "Right, I forgot. I'll reheat your food for you, do you want me to bring it up?"

"No, I'll go down when I'm done."

He nodded in answer and left the room.

With a loud sigh, Juvia redressed the wounds on her feet.

Nowadays, she found her thoughts of Gray only made it painful for her. Maybe, it will be better if she went for the surgery. A perception like that flashed in her mind and she immediately blocked it out.

There has to be some other way. She tells herself, albeit knowing that it was just an excuse for her. An excuse so she can avoid making that decision so quickly. Dr. Erika would know what else she could do, she would. There has to be something she did not tell her before about the treatment options.

With such affirmations in her head, the girl finished up quickly and went down after fixing her hair into a messy bun.

—

"It's been awhile, Eli. How have you been?"

The wind was gentler than usual, and the sun was hiding shyly behind the clouds. The weather was just fine for a picnic.

Blue locks danced in front of Juvia's face as she stood next to her Father in front of the tomb, her brother was right beside her. She brought a hair to pull back her hair, thinking of how she should've tied it into a ponytail like her brother next to her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Father kneel, placing down a beautiful bouquet of every colour available of daises that the shop could provide. He always got that for her when she was alive and now it added a touch of colour to the greenery surrounding Eliana's resting place.

"We're doing just fine," Metalicana says, a far-away look in his eyes. "The children are all grown up, Gajeel's doing well in the company, I think I'll be able to retire soon while waiting for grandbabies," he said in a light-hearted tone but Juvia could hear the longing in his voice. "Juvia has been studying way too hard in University, though I keep telling her to take a break whenever she can."

Gajeel, who would normally yell at his Father for saying such things, kept silent, a different reaction from one that he would usually have. His

How Metalicana wished that Eliana was there to witness the two children's growth, the milestones they've passed and the daily moments they had together as a family. There was so much she had missed in her absence that he wished she was there with him to see and to celebrate.

"Recently, I've been thinking..." Metalicana continued and the two siblings decided to move, allowing their Father to have a talk on his own. They set down a picnic mat and the basket that was packed with sandwiches, a bunch of cupcakes Juvia baked the day before and two tumblers, one filled with tea, the other, coffee.

From afar, though Metalicana was facing the other way but both siblings could see him silently wiping away at his eyes. Even as the years passed, he never once forgotten about her. It was bittersweet to witness it every time. Metalicana, as far as Juvia knew, was a man who appeared as though he could care less about love. But that was just appearance, in their home or when he was with his family, both of the children could see that 180 change from a strict businessman to a cheesy dad who comes up with cringe-worthy jokes every now and then.

"Don't look so mopey." Gajeel ruffled the top of her head, earning a whine in response to his action. He was less rowdy than usual, and it was expected. He has always been well-behaved in front of their Mother; minus the few times he accidentally cursed or broke all the clocks in the house while tinkering with them.

"Do you think Mom will enjoy these if she was here?" Juvia asked, it was a fleeting question, but she felt the need to ask. Her eyes traveled to the skies, following the passing clouds. The one year she had with Eliana may have been short, anyone would've said it was impossible for her to cultivate a deep relationship with her. But Eliana made it possible, she spent as much time as she could with both children, teaching them things on a weekday when they come back from school. On the weekend, all four would spend time in that bedroom as they played board games.

There would be times where Eliana simply stared out to the window and told them stories. Ones of mermaids, some of adventurers and some she simply made up as she went along.

There was one that Juvia heard that was deeply buried in her mind. It was one that told of a princess who loved a prince. One day, the princess fell ill and it was because the prince was meant to be with someone else and she knew it was not possible for her. So the illness she developed nipped at the princess's health bit by bit, until one day, a knight arrived. The knight persuaded her to get treated by a healer and during that time, the princess fell in love with the knight.

Soon, the princess's illness was gone, because she was able to find love with someone else that she knew loved her.

A frown formed her Juvia's face. It sounded as if the illness was-

"I think she would. After all, we made her favourite cupcakes, sandwiches and, ugh, tasteless water that you and Mom like so much." Gajeel eyed the tea that his sister was sipping on. She rolled her eyes in false annoyance, her brother was picking a quibble with her to lighten the mood and she would gladly play along.

"It's called tea, Gajeel."

"Tasteless water." He insisted.

"If tea is tasteless water then coffee is a bitter, sour tasting water."

The man then did a dramatic gasp, a hand placed against the middle of his chest, "Take that back."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yea-uh."

Before Juvia could insert a witty remark, Metalicana cut in. "Just when I thought both of you are behaving well, you're arguing over coffee and tea?" He sat down on the empty spot between the two, picking up a sandwich packed with ham and lettuce.

Gajeel grinned, "We weren't, we were simply exchanging adjectives to describe the tasteless water she loves so much." He mocked in a posh accent. At that, Juvia picked up a blueberry and flung it at her brother, hitting him right between the studded eyebrows. The latter caught it when the small fruit fell, popping it into his mouth without missing a beat.

"Sour and bitter-tasting liquid isn't exactly that tasty either," she retorted with a soft giggle. Metalicana could only chuckle at their behaviour, enjoying the nature surrounding them. The place they were at was at a park that was located two hours away from their house.

Thinking for a moment, Metalicana tapped his finger on the sides of his cup and took a drink of the coffee. "Your Mother and I used to come here a lot." The two children remained silent, listening to him. "She loves the sound of nature and would always ask to come here for a picnic whenever I take her on a date."

Which was what sparked their little annual routine of having a picnic there.

The tree leaves that swayed with the wind and the song of the birds that resided on their branches. It was an environment so peaceful and calm, the reason why Eliana loved going to that park and why they do this picnic every year without fail unless it was raining heavily.

"Say, now that Gajeel has a girlfriend, when will it be your turn Juvia?" The older Redfox mentioned casually, as if he was talking about the weather.

The younger male immediately snapped his neck to face his father, "Old man! She's too young to have a boyfriend!"

"I think it's the perfect time. Besides, I courted your Mother after high school, that was alright, not too young." Metalicana replied in an aloof tone, enjoying how he was ticking off his son. The kid has always been protective of Juvia, acting more like a father than Metalicana would. To him, as long as she was happy, he would support her. "What is it, Gajeel? Do you have what they call a sister complex?"

His son simply harrumphed, folding his arms as he gobbled an entire sandwich. "No. But I think there is no guy that is good enough for her right now. No matter who she dates, they would have to get past me first. Remember Totomaru?" He glanced at Juvia who was nibbling on a cupcake.

The girl groaned, placing down her cup of tea after taking another sip. She declared that she would be having a cupcake session with Eliana so it would be good if neither of them came to disrupt the girls' talk.

Totomaru was Juvia's first boyfriend. Needless to say, he was her first boyfriend and only that. He was not her first love. It was part of the reason why they ended their relationship within a few months. He liked her first and constantly chased her around in high school, he only got bolder when Gajeel's cohort graduated, without an overprotective older brother haunting him, he finally found courage to ask her out.

That year, Gray also had his first relationship with a girl named Daphne; they broke up after half a year when they decided they were not compatible.

As a way to get over her lingering feelings, she thought the best would be to accept the boy's advances. It quickly ended because she could not see their future together, not any longer than their entire school year in Phantom High. Though, she was the one to initiate the breakup, Totomaru said that if anyone were to ask, to say that he dumped her, something about his male pride he said. Which was what led to Gajeel's misunderstanding when she cried.

Her tears then were for the guilt of using Totomaru as a vehicle to carry the love that she was unable to direct to Gray openly. Till now, a little shadow of that guilt still remained, and she could only hope that Totomaru found someone better than her.

_"What's wrong, sweetheart?"_

She could hear Eliana asking in a gentle voice. If she was here, maybe she would find it easier to tell her of her problems. Now that the only other motherly figure in her life was Ur, it was not a choice to tell her of her current issue. Not when her son was the one she found herself in love with.

Juvia stood before the headstone, staring at the words inscribed on it. It was unreal to her back then that her adoptive Mother would be gone just like that. Without a warning, their day out then was their last day with her. Just like her Father, she wished that Eliana was here, because she always knew what to say.

Back when Juvia first entered the school, the kids would tease her after finding out that she was not the Redfoxes' biological daughter. The words did nothing to convince herself that she was indeed part of the family, after all, it had only been weeks since she came to their house. The adults soon found out when Gajeel got into a fight with one of the bullies after hearing what they said to her.

_"No matter whether you're our biological daughter or not, you've joined our family and is part of us now. You will always be my daughter, just like how your dad will always be your father and how Gajeel will be your brother. Nothing will change that."_

The words brought her so much comfort then and now.

_I miss you, Mom._

—

At Magnolia University, a certain ice hockey player roamed through the hallways, looking for a bluenette. He had not seen her the whole weekend after he had spent the weekend at the dorms. Unlike Juvia who returned every week, Gray only went back if there was an important occasion or when Ur blew up his phone for him to return for a family bonding day like last week.

He thought about the breakup he just initiated the other day; it would be a lie if he said he did not feel one inch of emptiness after making a break. However, he had long been preparing himself for that.

Not to anyone's knowledge, during his punishment to clean up the training arena with Justin, he was given a heads up about Claire. The former had been pondering on whether he should insert himself between the couple as an outsider and as someone accused of setting eyes on someone else's girlfriend. He went on ahead to do so when he gained knowledge that a certain redhead had attained a new fling and that certain fling was Gray's girlfriend.

Evidences of the text messages of Claire making advances to his teammate was shown and the last thing Justin told him before he left was the party. If Eric was the one planning, without a doubt, his new fling would be there.

_"Why are you telling me this?"_

_Justin shrugged and threw the tool used to resurface the ice to the side. "Would be better to warn you before you look more like a fool in front of everyone else."_

_"What?"_

_"Claire has been saying that she wasn't your girlfriend to other guys she made moves on, even me. I thought you two were just friends with benefits."_

Confusion was the first thing Gray felt after the whole conversation. The texts with Claire did nothing to clear things up so he headed to the party where she would be. Though, he did not expect to see his best friend there, cornered by some unknown man. His curled fists flew up but stopped midway when Juvia's constant reminders of using his mouth to speak rather than his fists came to mind.

He was shocked to find her there, after all, she was Juvia, a girl who does not go to such parties unless it was by someone they knew.

When he asked her reason for being there, he did not think it was to show him Claire's true colours. He dated her for three months and it would seem Juvia knew more about her despite the little interaction between both of them. He was so ignorant about it all before that.

Not when the signs of her constantly messaging someone else when he is with her. Not when she smelled of someone else's cologne and passed it off as a friendly hug with a guy. Not when her created a whole scene about one of his teammate's kissing her. How dense and foolish could he be to believe all of those lies?

Perhaps it was her tears when he doubted her that he believed her. Perhaps it was the guilt he felt when he questioned her.

The thought of it all, the frustration that grew within was not aimed at Juvia when he told her to go but at himself, not wanting to display such a sight in front of her. It was also after she left the place that Claire's demeanor changed. Gray thought himself of a fool. How could he have believed her innocent and sweet personality that was painted over one that was quite the opposite.

_"Gray, baby, it's easy to comprehend. Everyone does it. I don't see what the problem is here. Your stupid friend was dumb enough to lure you here, what was it, to catch me cheating?" She laughed. "How dumb."_

_He restrained his hands, controlling his anger within him. He would never hit a girl but the man smirking behind Claire was the one he wanted to sock right in the face._

_"I've always thought she was pathetic, following after you." She added and Gray had to do all he can to avoid doing something stupid. "Even her name is weird. Did you know, I never cared about anything you said about the two of you? I mean, who does that when they're on a date?"_

_"So that gives you a free pass to cheat?"_

_Her eyes simply narrowed at him as she walked over, barely covered by the blanket she tugged along with her. "No. I'm not cheating, Gray. If you'd paid more attention, you would've realised we were never dating to begin with." She told him, as if it was the most natural thing to say when one got caught being unfaithful to their partner._

_He was taken on a ride by that girl and he was unaware of it. By her words, it has always been Gray chasing after her that she agreed to go on a date. Each time they hang out, it was considered a date by him and not her. She only saw him as someone who was there for whenever she was bored. She even made it clear that that he never asked her officially, so they weren't exactly in a relationship as he claimed._

_Numerous snark insults came to mind, but Gray held himself, doing his best to keep his feelings in check, yet it did not help the one remark that escaped his lips. "Well, isn't it great then? I don't have to tell people my ex was a cheating whore since we were never official."_

Had Bickslow not arrived to borrow car keys from Eric, there would've been a fight between the two males with the redhead's open laughter at him.

The entire time as he left, he was in disbelief at how much she could twist the matter as though it was entirely his fault. If she could twist the situation at hand like this, it would be obvious if he were to pull out arguments that she would do the same. How did he come to like a person like her?

Perhaps it was indeed his fault. Indeed, it was his fault that he was so foolish to be tricked like this. Whatever she gained from this relationship; he could not understand.

_Good riddance. _He told himself as he chugged down cans of beer in his dorm alone.

There would normally be a loud pink-head next door but the latter was staying at his girlfriend's house over the weekend so that left Gray alone in the dormitory. Even so, he managed to find a stash of beer that his roommate kept aside in the refrigerator, hidden behind bottles of hot sauce. Needless to say, he finished everything on his own.

With the events of the night running through his mind, he could only spend the rest of the weekend in the ice rink. It was not until last night that he realised the one party that was involved in this whole thing.

Juvia.

His best friend.

He tried calling her, but it led to her voicemail right away. He tried to text her, only to have the messages left unread.

So, there he was, trying to look for her during lunch time. They always have the same lunch time on Tuesdays. The hallways were crowded and as he past the student mass, he was not sure what he was going to say to her. His entire mind was set on looking for her that he was sure that he was missing an important information.

A blur of blue flashed in the corner of his vision and he immediately trudged forth, passing and bumping into students along the way to get to the front.

"Juvia!" He called out and the girl turned around with a surprised look. This was not Juvia. Round brown eyes clad in glasses and straight blue hair. It was not her for sure. "S-Sorry. Wrong person."

He dragged a hand over his face, embarrassed and exasperated at his mistake. Where could she be? She was not at the cafeteria nor was she relaxing under the tree outside the lecture hall. Her phone was still turned off and he wondered if she had accidentally dropped it in the pool like the other time.

"Gray?"

This time, it was another blue-haired girl he knew but it was not the one he was looking for.

Levy McGarden, another one of the Fairy Tail members as well as Gajeel's girlfriend. In her hands were a bunch of thick books and the two guys who normally followed her were nowhere in sight. He assumed it might've been Gajeel's doing that they were not since they always tagged behind her like lost puppies.

He offered to help but was declined immediately. "I'm fine. You were looking for Juvia?"

For a second, he thought there might have been something to his efforts after all. He had been running all over the campus like a headless chicken. Eagerly, he nodded and anticipated for an answer from the petite girl.

"She's not in school today, didn't you know?" She asked him, tilting her head to the side. It was known the two were best friends and were even neighbours since they were kids. She would have thought that he knew it already. Levy only knew because, well because she was Gajeel's girlfriend. He had told her that he would not be able to join her for dinner the other day as it was his Mother's anniversary.

But it would seem the man in front of her unaware of that.

"It is their Mother's anniversary today."

That is when it hit Gray. This was the missing information in his head. Eliana's death anniversary.

Though they never join the family in the marking of that day, Gray remembered that Ur would send over baked goods the next day as a form of remembrance for the woman he cannot recall much of. Whenever they would visit the house next door, he and his siblings would be downstairs, only once or twice then did they go upstairs to visit her.

It would also explain Juvia's absence on a school day. She always skipped her classes if the date fell on a weekday, if there was a test, she would take it and leave right after. That was how important the date was to her and her family, and he had forgotten all about it.

"Why are you looking for Juvia though?" Levy probed, curious as to why his facial expressions changed from exasperated, relief, sudden realisation and then now, dispirited. Gray shook his head, mumbling an answer.

"Long story."

The timing they had was just right, wasn't it?

—

***Author's note***

**Ah, 7k worth of words (including this note!). A somewhat normal chapter word count for once? XD The previous chapter had about 8-9k worth of words and was packed with a lot of content, I do hope you guys enjoyed it though. It was too much for one chapter but too short for two, so I kept it together.**

**How was it?**

**Do leave a review before you leave!**

**Thank you 3**

**Stay safe and stay home!**

**I'm not used to doing this, but I decided to try and reply to reviews on the book (same for comments on Wattpad!). Sorry that I'm late in replying to your comments! I'll try to do this for the following chapters! These are from Chapter IV and V!**

**To:**

Alfys-World: thank you so much for your support and reading! Gray will do his best to make up for everything XD!

FbFlame94: yes! There is 9.1k words in the chapter! I couldn't find the right time to stop I'm glad you liked it though, thank you for your support and thank you for reading!

Releina Artemis Rockefeller: thank you for your support and thank you for reading! Cliffhangers are one of my fav things to put in my books (sorry hehe)

nik09: thank you for sticking around and waiting for the update, I really appreciate it T.T

violafanatic: We'll have to see, can't divulge too much about future chapters can I? hehe, thank you for reading!

Dr. Ju: thank you for your kind comment!

the three anonymous comments (Guests): thank you for liking this story and for reading!

aial2: Lo siento, no entiendo español pero gracias por leer! (from google translate, I'm sorry, I don't understand Spanish but thank you for reading!)^^"

I12Bfree: glad you like it! Thanks for reading and supporting the book!

Star197: hope this chapter was enjoyable for you! Thanks for reading!

**-Smiles: )**


	9. VII: Revelation

***Author's Note***

**A new chapter to pass your time in quarantine, hopefully it does well in doing so. I haven't added much of Gray perspective up till now, I am thinking of doing so in the upcoming chapter/s, so don't be shocked when it happens ;)**

**Happy Reading!**

**-Smiles: )**

—

Keys chimed against the door and a girl with blue hair and a bulky tote bag in her hand entered the room. She eyed the clock on the wall, it was five in the evening and her roommate would be back any time soon.

On the contrary of that, it had been a short but long enough break for Juvia who had skipped two days of classes in addition to the weekend off.

Juvia begun unpacking the bag she brought on the counter-top. There were several boxes containing freshly baked cookies and cupcakes. She was almost done with organising them when the door clicked open. A mop of silver hair came into her view and Juvia was greeted with a warm hug.

"Juvie!" Lisanna squealed in delight, throwing her arms around her friend without hesitation. She threw almost all her weight at the blue-headed girl and the latter barely caught her friend, keeping her feet steady on the ground. She chuckled softly as she squeezed her shoulders in a gentle manner.

"I was only gone for four days, you make it seem like I was gone for four years," Juvia joked. That earned her a huff of annoyance as she was released from the bear hug she received.

The girl crossed her arms, "Well, I wouldn't have if you'd had the courtesy to-," Lisanna paused, forgetting for a moment the reason Juvia left without waking her up as usual. "I'm sorry," she whispered softly, eyes full of sympathy. She understood the feeling of losing a loved one just like everyone else, and for a moment, let her forgetfulness get the better of her.

Juvia only shook her head, assuring her that she was fine. Turning around, Juvia handed her some cupcakes and peanut butter cookies. It was from her fourth batch that day because both the grown men in her house decided to hog the first two, the third batch was left in a container in the kitchen after much compliments from Metalicana (and persuasion from Gajeel).

Her lips curled into a smile when she remembered how immature they were as they stuffed them into their mouth. She would have to tell Levy about her brother rejecting sweets was to keep up his cool image rather than eating them like a normal person. It would send them café hopping and Gajeel would grovel at the thought of stuffing sweets in his mouth, contrary to that morning of sneaking off a tray of cookies to his father.

_Ah, yes, that will be how I teach him a lesson about sneaking off food._ Juvia thought, almost smirking at the idea.

"They look delicious," Lisanna's mouth watered at the sight and smell of the delightful treats Juvia had brought back. Unable to resist, she snatched a cookie and took a bite without hesitation. The sweet and salty taste of the peanut butter danced on her tongue and Lisanna thought she must have been in heaven.

Juvia had a satisfied look on her face, watching her friend enjoy her edible creations. She handed her the bag where she had labelled the boxes. "You have general studies with the others tomorrow, right? Do you mind passing this to-!" She was cut short of her words when Lisanna embraced her tightly once again to thank her before sneaking off with the entire bag.

"No! They're all mine!" Lisanna declared, attempting to run off to her room but she was caught just as she barely stepped past the threshold. That little stunt earned her a little flick on the forehead. It was worth the try though as baked goods from Juvia was the best.

Soon after, they had a short chat over some instant mac and cheese that the two whipped up for dinner in the microwave. They caught up with what Lisanna did over the weekend and she told her of Mirajane's fortieth suitor who refused to leave her restaurant until Elfman hauled him out. Juvia listened with interest, knowing how Lisanna was avoiding the topic she wanted to ask the other day.

Then, both girls returned to their rooms. Juvia was sprawled on her bed with her laptop screen glaring at her face while she typed away for another assignment.

Just a little more and she would be done for the day. Even back at home, she had been working on the assignment and the added motivation was from the silence of her phone. Ever since it had been switched off the other day, she never bothered to turn it back on. Gajeel had asked about it after she wrote down the ingredients' list on a paper instead of keeping it on her phone, she simply told him that she wanted a break from it, earning her a weird look.

In truth, she had not bother to charge it even after she had gone home, only doing so after dinner. The screen lit up, telling her of several texts from the raven-haired male who crossed her mind every so often unconsciously, no matter how much she tried, he still came to mind.

Staring blankly at the text notifications, she hugged her head between her palms.

_Sat_  
_Gray: I don't know what to say to you, Juv. Give me some time. 1.09am._

_Sun_  
_Gray: Missed Call at 8.59am._

_Gray: Juvia, I need to talk to you. 9am. _  
_Gray: Juv? 9.28am._

_Gray: Missed Call at 10.36am._

_Gray: Are you awake? 11.42am._  
_Gray: Are you busy? 1.13pm._  
_Gray: I know you're upset but let me explain! Let me know when you can talk. 2.03pm._  
_Gray: Missed call at 2.05pm._  
_Gray: Juv, please. 3.14pm._  
_Gray: Juv 4.57pm._

_Gray: Missed Call at 5.03pm._  
_Gray: Missed Call at 5.05pm._

_Gray: Missed Call at 7.39pm._  
_Gray: Missed Call at 9.17pm._

_Mon_  
_Gray: Missed Call at 9.55am._

_Gray: Juv, please pick up my calls 10.01am._  
_Gray: I can't explain over text so please, I can look for you after your Biology Lecture. 10.02am._

_Gray: ? 11am._

_Gray: Missed Call at 11.30am._

_Gray: Will you be the North Cafeteria for lunch? I'll look for you there. 12.15pm. _  
_Gray: Where are you? 12.21pm. _

_Gray: Missed Call at 12.22pm._  
_Gray: Missed Call at 12.45pm._

_Gray: Shit, I'm so sorry Juv. 1.48pm. _

It was late to respond to any of the message other than say she had switched off her phone. But, she chose not to reply to him at all, knowing he would try to talk to her after. So, she avoided him. The days that followed, she kept herself occupied with her studies and swimming practices. During periods where she knew he would be at the common area, she avoided him like the plague.

"Juvia!"

Her eyes widened, knowing exactly who it was that was calling out to her. _Keep moving, Juvia. _She told herself, not once faltering in her steps in the other direction. Her lean figure and experience of weaving through the student crowd helped her create a bigger distance between them.

"Juvia!" The students blocking his way tried to move away but since it was in a crowded hallway in the building, he had no chance of catching up.

His shouts were mere echoes in her head as she made two corners and hid behind a wall, taking in a deep breath. If it was a month ago, perhaps she would've forgiven him easily. She hesitated thinking about it. Her feelings for him were deeper than ever but his every action acted like a knife to her heart. Whether he meant it or not, the fact that she had been hurt so many times, it would better for her to stay away from him for the time being.

She would need time to think before moving on, especially since there were too many variables involved in this messy situation. After a few days, he should understand she did not want to see him. Juvia never screamed nor threw a tantrum in the past when she was upset, it was always the silent treatment for him. Though it was rare that it happened because there were so many incidents she turned a blind eye to.

Love was blind for her like everyone used to say.

Was she blind for it or was she just letting herself be blinded by those feelings conflicting within her?

—

"You look like shit, ice-face."

Grunting, Gray rolled her eyes at the pink-headed man. He took a swig of his beer on the floor of the living room, staring at his phone. It was only mid-afternoon, but he was already drinking as though it was a Friday night.

"That better not be my stash and why are you all gloomy like this, it's barely 4 in the afternoon." Natsu questioned with a cocked brow, snatching the can out of his roommate's hand. The latter clicked his tongue in annoyance when he finished the drink on his behalf.

"Well, what else can I do? I was dumped. Juvia is ignoring me because I was dumb."

"Hey, you have some sense of self-awareness, not bad." Natsu drawled, "Rhyming skills too." He added with a click of his tongue.

"Shut it, fire-breath."

The man joined his friend on the floor, leaning back against the makeshift couch left by the previous occupants. Natsu had heard about the story with Claire. Honestly, he would've went ballistic if he was Gray, there was no way he would keep cool like Gray did. But that did not mean that he did not think that Gray was an idiot.

He could only offer that few sentences of comfort and to give Juvia some time before she would talk to him again.

Although, Natsu had noticed for a while that there could be something more between them—well, he noticed only after Lucy told him about the way Juvia looked at Gray. He thought this was a great opportunity for his two friends to get together. After all, it was not all friendship for Gray, right?

"What do you think about Juvia anyways?"

The dark orbs of the hockey player darted to his roommate before focusing on the unopened can of beer. He reached forth. "She is my best friend who I've known for years."

Natsu rolled his eyes, "I meant Juvia as a woman." He wondered if Gray got his hint, but his dense roommate does not seem to notice the implication.

"Juvia is Juvia. She is kind-hearted, a little goofy at times, beautiful even though she would not believe me when I say that." A laugh of mockery left Gray's lips. No matter where she went, her beauty was enough to sweep several guys off the ground. But she always denied that, saying it was impossible.

Natsu smirked at the answer he got from him but before he could add a remark suggesting something other than their 'pure' friendship, Gray added on to his statement.

"And she is mad at me right now." That is right, she is giving him the silent treatment and avoiding him constantly.

When it came to this, even a dense guy like Natsu knew where he had gone wrong. Even if it was a misuse of his facial expression at the time, he could've dealt with it differently. Natsu shook his head, "You'll have to figure that out yourself man, the girls are already planning something on their own."

"What?" Gray stared at him before slapping a hand over his face, groaning. If the girls got involved, he would never get out of this hole.

"But haven't you ever thought of Juvia of more than just your best friend?" Natsu commented casually. Well, it was not entirely casual with how much his blonde girlfriend pressured him to get an answer out of Gray. It was also from the matchmaker at Fairy Tail who smiled at him in a threatening manner after hearing their conversation.

Gray cocked his head and fell silent, unsure of how to answer his question.

The girl had been someone he had known since he was five. He still remember the first time he saw her, staring in admiration at the colour of her hair and eyes.

The image of her eyes that were so blue and deep that drew him in even without her trying. He thought about her bright smile that came up on her face whenever she talked about marine animals and baking. He remembered her crying face in front of Ur after Eliana's passing. He recalled the time he received her silent treatment after getting into a fight over something stupid in class. He thought of the time of her first breakup, wanting to beat up the DoDoMaru guy for being an asshole.

Juvia was someone he had wanted to protect since the moment they met. When she was bullied, he would step in even when Gajeel was around. Her aloofness at times often put her in danger, so he always made sure to walk back with her from school whenever he could in the past. Her playful nature which she only showed to him and her family, often by playing harmless pranks followed by her laughter that tinkered like bells to his ears.

So, perhaps, yes, he had thought of Juvia as more than just his best friend.

"Yeah." He answered in a daze.

Grinning, Natsu nodded, knowing to transfer his answer to his girlfriend through text later on.

"Well. Good luck."

He meant it.

—

"See you next week Juvia!" One of the swim club girls waved at the bluenette who was sitting at the edge of the pool. The latter lifted her head while fixing her swimming cap that was keeping her thick locks of hair in one place. She waved back, unable to make out their faces in the distance through tinted goggles.

Just moments ago, they were practicing together but Juvia intended to stay longer on her own despite the fact that practice ended earlier that day. She also kept in mind that she would have to leave on time for her appointment at the hospital.

"Take care! Don't push yourself too hard!" Another girl added. "Coach is getting old, she's going through menopause!"

A laugh came from the group as they made fun of their coach, one of them slapping the shoulder of the other, "We'll get in trouble if anyone hears that!"

Juvia sat at the starting board as she watched her fellow club mates go. The harsh words of her Coach added on to her pressure to improve her timings. Lately, her timings had begun to lengthen which was the opposite of what she wanted. She could blame that on schoolwork in front of her Coach, but she knew there was another reason for it.

She was not sure if the swim meet would be in her reach by then, but she still wanted her timings to be consistent. So, pushing the thoughts out of her head, she slipped back into the water smoothly. Her movements were graceful and neat, cutting through the water effortlessly.

In the huge body of water, all sorts of sounds from the outside was blocked out and for Juvia, it helped with keeping herself focused on what was happening.

The water allowed her to only concentrate on working her limbs to get from one point to the other, and it was what Juvia loved the most about swimming. The ability to only concentrate on the present. The adrenaline that pumped in her blood during the whole process and the post-workout endorphins were an added bonus to it all.

The arena was empty of any other person except for the girl in the pool. The only sound that filled the arena was the splashing of water and that easily hid the ruckus that four girls were making when they entered. They watched with excited eyes at the moving figure in the water, almost like they were seeing a mermaid move.

"You're right, Lis! She's still practicing!" Lucy exclaimed only to be shushed by the girl, earning a sheepish look from the blonde. Their eyes jumped to the pool, checking to see if the girl noticed them and only continued moving when Juvia seemed oblivious to their presence. Behind the two, Levy walked next to Cana, her brown orbs peering down as they were entering from the top.

Levy was basically gawking, leaning over to talk to Cana but her eyes remained on the swimming figure. "Gajeel was bragging so much about her swimming skills, I thought he was exaggerating but Juvia is really good at this."

The brunette chuckled, tugging on the jersey jacket she had gotten from Bacchus, "That was my reaction when I first saw her swim. Heck, I think Juvia might've been some sort of a Water Wizard or a fish in her past life by just how good she is in water." Cana pondered, a hand under her chin as she thought seriously.

Lisanna gently tapped her shoulder, "A mermaid would be more suitable, how can you call our precious swimmer a fish?"

"Well, she would seduce all the guys and lured them to the ocean and-!" Lucy rambled and paused to hurriedly took out a notebook as she scribbled an idea for a new novel. Levy giggled, pointing out how Lucy got an idea from just a single word while the other two chuckled. The notebook in Lucy's hands were almost fully filled and they wondered how many ideas she could generate in a day.

The four girls moved to sit in a row located near the steps but was far enough so Juvia would not notice them right away. Lucy excitedly took out her phone, snapping a picture when she saw Juvia's head pop out of the water and back in again. While she was busy uploading that on her social media, Cana started the conversation.

"Did she tell you what happened on Friday?"

Lisanna shook her head, "I couldn't ask, she had only just returned, and I didn't want probe right away." She referred to Juvia's down expression which was expected. Despite that, the girls still wanted to help in cheering her up, and also to advise the swimmer not to forgive Gray so easily like other times.

"She seemed so out of it lately, I hope your plan works, Cana," Levy whispered. The brunette rolled her eyes playfully while crossing her arms, glancing at the time on her phone. She had made reservations at a cafe that was popular for their cakes and beverages. Not to mention, they consisted of only male servers that always wore bunny ears. She grinned at the thought of going to the cafe.

The three girls glanced at Cana with a defeated expression, as expected, she would be excited for stuff like that.

Sighing, Lisanna rested her chin atop her palm, watching her roommate in the water. "She has either been studying or at the pool like this. There is something off, don't you guys think so?"

Though Juvia was one of the girls who were less talkative, it was hard to tell when something bothered her if she was determined to hide it from them. She wore her heart on her sleeves without knowing and no one could bear to tell her not to when she was so genuine with each person she met. But whenever she got hurt, she would keep it to herself.

Lisanna recalled abruptly of when they first met in high school. The girl was known for her relationship with her brother, Gajeel, after all her brother was the one fending off any boys that dared to confess to her. The man filled with studs had even led Juvia through an emo phase where they both wore black from head to toe. That was until one day when Gajeel returned home with studs for brows and Metalicana decided to intervene.

Gray had even gotten himself involved, almost getting in a huge argument with the younger Redfox for the weird thing he was influencing his best friend. It ended with Gajeel They thanked the gods that Juvia was kept away from black hair dye and studded brows after that. Her blue hair was too beautiful to be ruined that way.

A soft chuckle left her lips and Levy questioned it.

"Do you remember when Gajeel went through a phase and influenced Juvia to as well?" She reminded her and Levy giggled, remembering how silly her boyfriend was.

Gajeel acted like a big brute but went through a phase no one expected him to. He does not seem to regret the brows, despite his stupid decision at the time. The headmaster almost got a heart attack when he reported to school late the next morning.

"Hey, is it just me or is Juvia slowing down?" Lucy questioned, pointing at the figure whose speed has reduced greatly compared to when they first entered the stadium. This led the eyes of the others to focus on where she gestured to.

Cana stood up, trying to get a better look. To her right, Levy frowned, "Maybe she got tired?"

Before they could comprehend the situation, there were loud splashes and the sound of a struggle in the water. Through the swashing of the pool, Cana could make out one of Juvia's hands gripping at the air.

Her heart dropped as she removed the jersey jacket she wore, not bothering to check if her phone was in her pocket as she jumped over the rows.

The reason for her panic?

That was not Juvia slowing down for a break, that was Juvia drowning.

Not missing a beat, she jumped into the water from a point she could get to Juvia the quickest. The three friends behind her followed right behind, only stopping by the edge of the pool, unsure of what they could do to help as they watched anxiously.

"Juvia!" Cana yelled, hoping the girl would hear her and calm down so she could see her better through the thrashing of the water.

Inwardly, the brunette cursed that her friend's hair was blue and blended in with the water that it was difficult to pinpoint where exactly her head was. When she got close enough, she could make out the pale skin sticking out and placed a hand under Juvia's chin.

"You're okay, you're okay," She tells her friend, but it was to no avail as the girl in her hold struggled in the water violently.

"Juvia, I got you, you're fine!" Cana yelled over the sound of water, doing her best to pull both of them edge of the pool. Coughs wrecked the bluenette and she clawed at Cana's hands to let her go. Her friend tried to get her out of the water but Juvia remained struggling in the pool, unaware of her surroundings.

"Pull her out!" She directed her words to the two light-haired girls near them. Levy had gone off to get her phone to call for an ambulance but paused when she saw her boyfriend's sister resurfacing from the water.

"On three!" Lucy and Lisanna each grabbed on one of Juvia's arms. The other girl in the water pushed on her lower body to aid in the process.

"One, two, three!"

They got her out of the water. Juvia scrambled away, however, her limbs were weak, and she fell onto the ground. Coughing violently, she hunched over with her trembling arms holding herself up. Her fingers were ice cold as she unconsciously closed them into fists from the pain that wrecked her insides like a hammer.

There was sharp stinging sensation combined with a dull, numbing pain, it was intense was enough to make her eyes tear up without her trying to expel the contents trapped in her throat.

The feeling of being smothered. She had never experienced this before.

Unable to comprehend anything else but her pain, she could barely feel the warmth from Cana's hand soothing her back. One by one, the flowers left her mouth, forming a pool of chlorine water, saliva, blue flowers and streaks of blood.

Lucy gasped loudly, "Oh my god."

On the stairs, Levy, who was holding her phone almost dropped it upon seeing the sight in front of her.

The girl who was soothing her back, turned a blind eye to the mess on the ground while signaling for Levy to call for medical help. "You're okay, let it out, babe. You're okay." She said in a tone that she hoped comforted the swimmer who had almost drowned.

She saw the swim cap and goggles that gripped tightly onto her pale skin, gesturing for the shocked Lisanna to help her remove them. When the pressure was released, the redness from exertion was evident on Juvia's face.

Lucy who had barely snapped out of it, mumbled she would get a towel for the both of them.

"We're calling for an ambulance, you'll be okay," Cana told her.

The coughing begun to slow and the bluenette shook her head, her eyes watering behind the goggles. "N-no," she whispered hoarsely as she felt something dribble down her chin but paid no heed. "No, no, don't."

"What do you mean no? Juvia, look at you!" Lisanna frowned, looking at Levy who gave her an affirmative nod with her phone in hand.

Medical help was on the way for her.

"You c-can't-," Juvia said through coughs, tears running down her face as she begged her friends not to. It was to no avail when Cana stood her ground, holding onto her shoulders.

"We cannot let you go like this, you need medical attention, Juvia! You're coughing out blood for Mavis's sake!" Lisanna was exasperated, her face reddened as well as tears ran down her face in fear.

_What was Juvia thinking? _She could not understand.

At her words, the girl begun to cry. No one were supposed to find out about this. Not even her friends. She felt something warm wrap around her, but it was ineffective to stop the shaking of her shoulders. "You can't see this," she cried, shaking her head. "No one was supposed to-," she sputtered, and a cerulean flower coated in blood left her mouth, as if to mock her.

It was then that her body gave out. The stress she had been holding in, both emotionally and physically, finally got to her.

"Juvia!"

—

When Juvia came to, the smell of the hospital was the first thing she noticed before the bright room came into view. Hurriedly, she shut her eyes, finding the blinding environment uncomfortable after being out for a while.

She could hear the low murmurs of two voices next to her accompanied by a gentle beeping of a machine to her left.

Slowly, she peeled her eyes open in an attempt to adjust to the light, but her attempt failed when she brought a hand up quickly to shield her face. The index finger on her hand twitched and she became aware of a clip-like object clamping onto it.

"Oh, you're awake, Miss Lockser." A female voice said and afterwards, Juvia heard a click in the room. "The lights are turned off now, is it better?"

Hearing her words, she brought down her hair, adjusting to the dimness of the room, the only light came from the yellow light behind her head. It was indeed much better. She blinked a few times before turning to face the owner of the voice.

A woman in white coat, green hair and a pair of glasses, appearing to be in her 40s. Juvia's eyes trailed to her name tag as if to confirm her doubts.

_Dr. Erika Whicgreen. _

Why was she here? How long has it been since she was out? How did she end up in the hospital to begin with? She wondered. Her azure orbs widened as the memories of what had happened prior to her blacking out rushed to her. Her friends who saw her. Her friends who saw everything. They know. They saw and they know-

She could barely hear Dr. Erika calling out to her and finally snapped out of it when she placed her hands gently on her shoulders, forcing her to look at her in the eyes.

The machine was beeping loudly in a fast pace, deafening the silence in the room.

"Miss Locker, listen to me. Take in a deep breath." The watery eyes glanced at the familiar-looking lady in front of her. The doctor nodded when she got her attention. Juvia did as told and repeated it with the woman holding onto her shoulders. "That's it. In and out, in and out."

With each breath she took, the girl could feel something sore in her chest. It hurt to breath, she realised. Taking in another gasp of air, the ache became more prominent to her. As if reading her thoughts, the doctor inquired on it.

"Does it hurt when you inhale?"

She nodded in answer and saw the nurse behind Dr. Erika scribbling down notes on a clipboard. Looking around the room, she understood there were only the three of them and no one else.

"Do you remember what happened before you blacked out, Miss Lockser?"

Nodding again to answer her question, Juvia looked at her hands resting on her lap.

All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind at the reminder.

Her friends knew of her and the thing eating up at her from the inside. If they knew, does that mean that her family knew as well? Unknowingly, she played with her fingers nervously, the slow beeps begun to pick up its pace.

Noting her reaction, Dr. Erika took the chair next to the bed and sat on it. "Miss Lockser, from what you've told me previously and your friends' reaction, I believe no one knows about your condition still?"

The girl nodded. No one except Meredy whom she asked to keep it a secret even though they had no mutual friends.

Rather than prod further, the doctor simply changed her direction to something more important. "We did an X-ray while you were unconscious, and this is what we saw." At her cue, the nurse pulled out two films on the light box at the front of the room and Juvia could see one of them were an old scan. There was a significant increase of dark areas in her lungs and even around the area surrounding her heart. She could even make out the slightly rounded areas, resembling flower petals blooming within.

It was surreal. The first time she saw her scans, they were just a blur of shadows morphing together, now, it was clear as day what was growing in her body.

She did not need to hear Dr. Erika says the words to understand her condition. It has deteriorated so quickly; it took mere weeks to reach this point unlike her predicted months. The episode at the pool came on so sudden she barely had the time to think and get out of the water.

Juvia had been aware that an episode might occur when she was in the water days after her diagnosis, and it was not her first time that it happened in the pool. She always got out upon getting the feeling that one was happening.

The doctor observed the patient, ensuring she was not going to go into a frantic state like earlier. Though, she could only expect the kind of reaction that her patient would have after hearing the news. Some accepted it quickly, some cried and regretted their decisions.

"When cases like yours deteriorates at this speed, I would advise them to go for the surgery as soon as possible," she paused, her eyes still on the girl, "The most you can go without the surgery is only a month, Juvia. Even with medications that I am able to prescribe for the time-being."

She had dropped the formalities and was hoping her patient understood the severity of her condition currently.

When she was answered with silence yet again, the doctor held back another sigh threatening to leave her lips. In her career, she had seen several cases like this. It was not rare, but she was hoping she could at least change the mind of this girl. A girl who has such a long way in front of her at the mere age of 20.

"Also," Dr. Erika continued.

Juvia was flooded with thoughts that she could not think of something worse that the doctor could say. Not until she heard it.

"You cannot engage in any form of physical activities, those that exert force on your lungs especially. They include physical exercise like jogging and swimming." Her words were like a knife this time. The swim meet she had been looking forward to the entire time was long gone, whether she knew it to begin with or not, it still hurt to be slapped with reality.

Her lower lip trembled as realisation hit her in waves.

Then, there was a loud sound from outside the private ward. A voice that sounded very much like her brother. Boisterous and angry, yelling at the nurses outside who prevented him from entering.

Dr. Erika glanced at the door, "Your friends were anxious to see you, but I told them to remain outside until you regained consciousness. I also wanted your consent before telling them."

Hearing that, the girl turned her head to her, her eyes that were swarmed with tears looked as if she was a deer in headlights. Absolutely frightened at the idea of her friends being there. Her reaction was enough for the doctor to reiterate to her that she had not spoken a word of her condition to them just yet. She also told her that it was impossible to hide it from those who witnessed it.

The nurse in the room went out first to try and dissolve the ruckus outside. However, as soon as she opened the door, Gajeel's voice was first to reach Juvia's ears.

"Where is my sister?" He sounded frustrated, angry and anxious. Juvia fought the urge to run away, to hide somewhere where no one could find her. She felt so ashamed all of a sudden, for hiding such a thing from everyone. But she could not find it in her to ever let them know, she did not want them to ever know of this, yet-

"Sir, I would advise you to keep your voice down as this is a hospital." She heard the nurse say, followed by a small female voice which Juvia recognised as Levy's trying to calm him.

The loud voice of her brother continued to argue with the nurse who brought up the threat of calling for the security guards. Juvia hid her face behind her shaky hands, making a request to the doctor who was next to her. "Could you tell them that I can't want to see them right now? I don't want to be the one to explain it to them." Her voice was shaky, and she could not help the warmness that leaked from her eyes.

With a look of sympathy, the doctor could only agree before bracing herself for the angry male waiting at the entrance of the ward. If it was a request from the patient herself, there was nothing else she could say.

It was in the comfort of the room that Juvia allowed herself to cry once more. She blocked out the shouts from Gajeel outside the door and heard the voice of her father negotiating if he could just take a look to ensure she was fine. But Juvia refused, if only just for that day, she wanted to be alone one more time. She needed time before she could meet their disappointed gazes.

—

She was asked to stay in the hospital for another two days for observation and it was no surprise when she was informed that she would have a visitor by a nurse the next day. Rather than reject them again, to let them have a piece of mind of seeing her completely fine, she agreed.

However, Juvia pretended to be asleep upon hearing the door clicked, hiding her face under the safety of the blanket draped over her. The person entered with footsteps that sounded too familiar for her to not know who it was. Half-expectedly, she thought he would begin to berate her.

But that would be unlike Metalicana. He never scolded her unless it was something obnoxious that she had done. The berating that he had done in his life were mostly aimed at his son who had the same bad temper as he did in his youth.

"Hey." Metalicana said in a soft tone, "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

He waited for an answer but did not falter when there was none. Setting down a flask he brought in a paper bag, he twisted the cap open. "I brought some hot chocolate from home." He tells her whilst pouring out some into a mug.

Metalicana looked towards the bundle of blanket covering his daughter, hoping she might lift it so he could at least catch a glimpse of her. To see her physically to put out the little anxious thoughts in his mind. When moments passed and she remained so very still beneath the cloth, he carried the drink to the side table next to her and sat on the chair.

"It has been rough, hasn't it?"

He waited again for her to show her face and was in dismay when she chose to remain silent and hidden. Truth be told, he was shaken when he heard the news from Gajeel who barely gave him proper information after yelling over the phone in a frantic manner.

The only thing he caught was that his daughter was in the hospital after almost drowning. That was enough to send him running to the car with his keys in hand from the office. The feeling of doing so brought back the past where he did the same with Eliana, rushing to a place that smelled of disinfectant and rubbing alcohol full of anxiety and panic. It was not a pleasant feeling nor memory.

He had been relieved when he was told that Juvia was fine, but his heart dropped when it was followed by the words 'for now'. The doctor answered the silent question from the girls who saw her ejecting flowers from her system. It was explained in simple terms that she had this disease where flowers grew in her lungs and it had begun to destroy that organ from the inside, almost reaching her heart at that point. To him, the term 'Hanahaki' was not unfamiliar like it was to his son.

At first, he wanted to ask who was it that she had loved so much to develop the one disease he never wanted to hear about again in his life. He remembered the group of friends outside the ward, only four of the girls and Gajeel were present. It seemed they had yet to tell the whole group. Somehow, he was relieved because he knew Juvia would not want an audience waiting for her. So, he told them to not visit until she was feeling better.

Hesitating for a moment, he placed a hand where he could spot the round of her head. She flinched at the touch but did not move away from the warm palm caressing her over the blanket, just like when she was a child.

"You must've suffered a lot, trying to keep it all to yourself, haven't you?" He asked in a tone that was not full of pity but with understanding.

Biting a finger between her teeth, Juvia muffled the cries that threatened to leave her throat. She failed and a strangled sob escaped. She thought she left all of that behind yesterday but when her father comes in without berating her nor crushing her with many questions, she felt the wall she built dissolve in an instant.

So, they stayed like this, until her cries softened to hiccups. Until she was ready to talk. Ready to tell him of a boy she had no choice but to forget in order to keep her life.

***Author's Note***

**I have read the reviews for Chapter 6 and I'm grateful for the positive comments and anticipation for the next as always. If I made you cry, I provide free hugs and tissues at the end of each chapter (virtually). But it will never stop a writer's thirst for tears, muahahah. **

**Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you guys in the next chapter! (Also, I'm glad you guys like the back story with the Redfox family, even though I think I spent more time writing them than of Gray, oops.)**

**Stay safe and stay healthy!**

**-Smiles: )**


	10. VIII: A Past They Didn't Know

***Author's Note***

**I've been slightly busy these days, and also reaching a Writer's block . This chapter might be a little boring and a bit of a filler but we're getting there. Also, thank you for the comments left on the previous chapter! Happy Reading! **

**-Smiles: )**

—

_The Night of The Incident_

On the bleachers, a phone vibrated with urgency, beckoning its owner to take notice of the several calls attacking the screen.

"Yo Gray! Your phone has been ringing for some time now, is it an ex of yours?" One of the boys, Sting, cackled while his friend, Rogue simply shook his head and walked in the direction of the changing rooms.

Disregarding his taunts, Gray removed his headgear whilst exiting the ring through the small gate by the side. He approached his towel and water bottle set next to the device. The phone had just stopped ringing, the latest call from his pink-headed friend.

A frown formed on his face as he glanced through the call log. What could be so urgent that there were so many missed calls from his circle of friends?

He did not bother with the massive amount of text messages, especially when each text asked for him to call them, any one of them. So, he tapped on the first name on the list of missed calls.

"Finally! What took you so long?" Natsu's voice blared through the phone, causing Gray to pull away with a grimace.

"Stop yelling." He replied in annoyance before clasping the device between his shoulder and chin as he worked on the laces of his skates. "What is it? Why is everyone spamming my phone like there's an apocalypse about to happen?"

There was a split second of silence and he heard rustling behind the phone, almost like the phone was being passed to someone else. When the person spoke, he recognised it as Lucy's voice.

"Something happened, Gray, I- Ju-," the words came out like word vomit. "Juvia almost drowned."

Her words sent Gray's mind spinning as he shot up from his sitting position on the benches.

"What are you talking about?"

The idea of Juvia drowning itself was absurd. She was Juvia! The girl swam like she was part of the water herself, she is a skilled swimmer. What did she mean that Juvia _almost_ drowned?

Her words begin to muffle and Gray could only make out that she was crying, causing the phone to be passed back to his roommate. "It'll be better if we tell you in person."

"Where is she? Which hospital is Juvia at? I'll meet you guys there-," Gray asked hurriedly but he was cut off quickly.

"We're at Mira's. No one can see her for today." His tone sounded awful without its usual blitheness. Any opportunity the pink-headed man could tease him, he would've taken it. However, the seriousness of the entire conversation only served to make Gray more nervous than ever.

It was all it took for the man to grab his belongings in a blind panic and leave.

He got to Mirajane's restaurant faster than it would usually take him. It was a miracle that the police had not pulled him over for treading the lines of the speed limit.

His hands fumbled with his helmet when he arrived, almost dropping it across the street. He also forgot to remove his keys from the ignition—an old man pointed it out to him afterwards—not to mention, he tripped on his own feet by the curb to complete the whole scene.

Gray was a _mess_.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the doors.

Being used to the buzz in the dim environment and jazz music playing at the bar at the end of the restaurant, it felt strange entering now that it was dead silent with the lights on.

There were only a small group of people present, surrounding the table nearest to the bar. Their heads turned to him as soon as he entered and their faces did nothing to tame the hurricane wreaking havoc in his mind.

Natsu and Lucy were the first he spotted, the latter's face and eyes were red from crying. Cana and Lisanna were seated opposite the two, one was focused on her bottle of beer while the other barely reacted to his presence, her eyes staring blankly at the napkins on the table. Mirajane was standing behind her sister, cleaning a glass absentmindedly.

"Explain. Everything. What happened to Juvia? Is she okay? Where is she now? Why isn't she answering her phone? Why can't Gajeel and Metalicana visit her? Why can't we visit her?" The questions poured out of Gray's mouth one after the other. If he had to wait any longer to get a proper answer, he might just tear down the whole place out of frustration.

The sweat gathering in his palms and the nagging worry at the back of his mind provided no relief even as he tried to think the best of the situation.

While making his way here, he attempted to call Juvia. He made perhaps about twenty calls, constantly pressing the redial button on his phone that was locked on his vehicle, but each attempt led to her voicemail.

Lucy took the initiative to answer, her nasal-sounding voice an indication of how long she had been crying the whole time. "We were going to surprise her," she sniffled, holding a piece of folded tissue in her hand. Next to her, Natsu rubbed her arms soothingly, holding her close. "We were going to take her to this cafe Cana recommended, and we were going to take her mind off the troubles she has had recently. We also-,"

She was cut off abruptly by the man.

"Lucy. What. Happened. To. Juvia." he drawled out with clenched teeth. He wanted to tell her that he could not find a single crap to give about their plans; it was out the windows to begin with, but he kept the words in his throat, trying to keep his emotions in check.

The blonde, startled by his sharp tone, shrunk back into her boyfriend who was glaring at Gray. Mirajane noticed the pink-head parting his lips and knowing him, whatever he said would just lead to a brawl, so she stepped in before it could escalate. She has had enough of brawls happening in her restaurant.

"Juvia had some troubles during her swimming practice, if the girls weren't there, I'm afraid to think of what might've happened." She placed a hand on her younger sister's shoulder, well-aware that she had yet to be over the shock from the events of that day.

The girls felt her words weigh heavily on their minds.

Had they not been there, had they chose not to look for her, would Juvia be alive now? The questions circled their heads like a broken record. Especially when there was not a lifeguard present—a lifeguard was not usually present during the club's activity days. If the girls did not choose such a day to look for her, it was possible that Juvia- They did not want to think about that.

"What do you mean troubles? Her leg cramped up? That is impossible, Juv knows to stretch before her practices. Did she injure herself while swimming? Did she hurt her head underwater? She knows what to avoid, how could she get injured?" Gray rambled. The vague information did nothing to piece the puzzle in his head. It just did not make sense. _But even experts have accidents_, a voice told him. Even he had an incident on the rink which gave him a permanent scar on his forehead.

Lisanna answered him this time, a look of displeasure on her face as she stared at him. She appeared angry even and he was at a loss as to why.

"The reason is Hanahaki. She was choking on flowers in the water." Cana answered him, her face blank as she chugged the last of her beer.

"Hana-what? She was what?"

Gray's mind was spinning, _what was Cana even talking about?_

Mirajane saw the paleness in his face, and hurried to him, pushing him gently towards the nearest chair. The words sounded absurd to him. _What was even Hana- whatever the hell Cana said and Juvia was choking on flowers?_

The brunette bit her lip, she was absolutely exhausted. The day had been taxing on them all, but she had to explain to Gray, so he'd at least understand what had happened.

When the doctor explained to them, Cana connected the dots before any of them could, but anyone could've deduced the answer without asking Juvia directly. They had seen the way that girl looked at Gray, her eyes shimmered with joy whenever they were walking down the hallway and she spotted her best friend. It might seem normal for such occurrences, but the shy smile Juvia hid after they walked away was hard to mistake for purely friendship.

"It is a disease where the patient has flowers, plants, growing inside their lungs and heart. It stems from unrequited love." She took a swig from another bottle of alcohol on the table. "She had an attack when she was in the water. We got her out the moment we saw her struggling in the pool. There were flowers, chlorine water and blood..."

She shut her eyes at the memory. As calm as she had been at the incident, when she replayed the scenes in her head, it was as if the fear had begun to set in. It was hard enough to replaying the day's event in her mind and having to say it out loud.

An inaudible sigh left her lips as she reopened her eyes, tapping the glass bottle with a finger. "We weren't allowed to see her at the hospital after they took her for the tests. They said we could when she regained consciousness, but when she did, Juvia said that she did not want anyone to see her, so here we are."

It took Gray moments to process her words. At this point, Lucy was crying again, Lisanna was holding back tears on her own, chewing her lower lip between her teeth. Mirajane handed him a glass of water, and he realised how dry his throat had gotten.

He took the bits and pieces Cana gave, stitching them together to form a story in his head. A better view of what he had just been bombed with.

Juvia had flowers growing inside her, she choked on them during her swim, she was sent to the hospital after. As of now, she was fine but uncontactable.

Then he concentrated on the first part she mentioned, _unrequited love._

That, he did not understand. Juvia had never said to him anything about a partner of her interest. She had never once told him that she loves someone. Even if she did, how would it be unrequited love? What was there not to love about Juvia?

Balling his fists, he tried to control the frustration growing within him. Why did she not tell him? Who was that man she loved?

She could do much better, regardless of who it was.

No one could match her better than- _you? _The voice said at the back of his head. His eyes widened at that thought. Juvia was his best friend so where did he fit in that picture?

She had always been a girl loved by everyone; no matter how many times he told her that, she would not believe it. Apart from his own family, Juvia was the only one who stayed with him for genuine reasons. She stood by him for the good and the bad when everyone only stayed for the good.

He had been the one to introduce her to the others when they first joined high school. Gray was the social one whereas Juvia kept to herself. However, when she got closer to the other girls in their group, he saw how her quiet demeanor changed to a playful one that only he knew existed before that. She was like a precious gem hidden, only to be found by those who are worthy.

Her generosity and kindness came with no strings attached. He remembered how many times he had to keep away her many suitors alongside both their brothers, knowing how she would be too nice to say no to them if they made a move.

He had never admitted this, not to Ur, not to Natsu and especially not to his brother whom he knew had a silly crush over her but there was a special spot in his heart that Juvia had embedded herself into and it can never be replaced. It was like a thread, stitched one by one over the years as part of him, and he wondered if she felt the same.

_Is it love?_ He cannot say, many broken relationships had led him to believe his idea of love was wrong the whole time. _Was it close to love?_ Certainly. Would he treat her better than any of his exes, than any of her potential lovers and her exes? Yes, he was sure of that. There was no one he had met that could treat her right.

_Let's not forget you pissed her off the other night, hurt her feelings and she wouldn't talk to you_. He groaned, all these talk about how he could do much better yet he was the one hurting her.

The conflicting worries fought in his head and he wondered why Juvia did that all the time, worrying about things she could not see.

In the end, he asked for the same thing that Cana was drinking in exchange for his water.

—

_Present Day._

It was perhaps half an hour later that Juvia collected herself, her eyes puffy as she sipped on the drink Metalicana poured for her.

"Is it good?" He asked. Juvia nodded and he leaned back into the chair. It was then that she saw the dark circles beneath his eyes. The one night she had not seen him had a vast difference from when she saw him weekly. She felt guilty, for worrying her father like this.

They stayed in silence, time passing while she finished the beverage. Metalicana did not have to say anything for her to know that he had plenty of questions for her, just like her brother and her friends whom she denied seeing the previous day.

"One question at a time," she said in a voice so soft, it was like a whisper.

It reminded Metalicana of the day he first brought her home, the same tone she had used to introduce her actual name to him. His heart squeezed at the thought, he had not expected for her to be in this state back then. An innocent girl, incapable of understanding that someone wanted to love her, yet, now, she was all grown and capable of love.

_How the years had passed and how things have changed. Eli, do you see this?_

He lifted up a pinky towards her, "Only the truth?"

It was something he used to do with Gajeel many times when he got in trouble, but Juvia knew what it meant. She curled her own pinky around his, the word of promise a mere breath that left her lips, unprepared for what she was about to do.

"How long have you known about this?"

Juvia chewed her lower lip, calculating the days in her mind as she debated to give him an answer, "A few weeks."

She heard Metalicana hitch a breath. He thought back to the times at the house where she was acting weirdly. "Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone?"

"I didn't want anyone to know I had a silly, love sick disease." It was half-true. She would prefer if no one ever knew, even though it was impossible to hide it forever. She also did not want Gray to know, for, if he knew, she was not sure what she would do. If Gray were to accept her because of his guilt, she would rather he be oblivious to it.

Juvia does not let herself think about that topic right now, knowing it would lead to another web of worries she did not want to explore yet.

"Can you tell me who it is?" Metalicana asked, his face devoid of any anger like she would expect. Even so, she hesitated to tell him that it was the boy next door, the same boy whom she was best friends with for the majority of her life and the very boy whom she did not want to see at the moment.

Seeing her hesitation, Metalicana schooled a firm expression, one that meant that he was serious. "I don't want you to lie to me. I won't hunt this boy down, I promise."

_Well, that isn't very comforting. _Juvia chuckled nervously in her mind. she set down the empty mug on the table, freeing her fingers for her to play with so she could avoid looking at her father directly.

"It's… It's Gray."

Just the mere mention of his name made her lungs constrict, for a moment, she thought she was back in the pool, taking in gasps of water rather than air. Her fingers curled into a fist, nails digging into her palm to ground herself. If Metalicana noticed anything, he did not say a thing.

A loud sigh escaped the man as he leaned back into the chair looking conflicted and confused.

"I thought it would be that Todomaru boy."

"Dad, his name is Totomaru." Juvia pointed out, no matter how many times she mentioned the boy's name to her father, he never seemed to be able to get it right. It seems that he still holds a grudge against him,

Metalicana waved his hands across his face as if waving off a fly, "He isn't important enough for me to remember other than the fact that he dumped you." Juvia cringed at what he said, guilty of the truth she never told him nor Gajeel, or any one to be exact.

Since she was telling him the truth, should she just spill everything?

"Actually." She held her breath, looking away in embarrassment. The very thought of revealing the truth behind their breakup had her ears heating up. "I was the one who suggested the break-up, he wanted to keep his pride so he told everyone he dumped me. Toto meant no harm."

Wide eyes, Metalicana remembered how much she had cried after the break-up with the boy who had hair like Cruella de Vil. He also recalled how much both his son and him were cursing out that boy. Although, when they did, it only made her cry harder, so they stopped doing that after a day.

"I see."

Juvia began her explanation about everything that had happened. She avoided telling him about the things that happened between her and Gray, skimming over the parts where she was currently not in speaking terms with him or how her confession went terribly.

It was difficult and she knew if she had been truthful with her family in the first place, she would not have to do this. It was what she had to do.

—

Hangovers were not an unfamiliar sensation to the dark-haired man leaning over his bed like a dead corpse, but it still felt like hell each time he had one. It certainly did not help when his light-haired brother slammed open the door, the loud sound was like a sledgehammer, a finishing touch to the splitting pain in his head.

"Juvia is in the hospital?" Lyon asked, fighting the urge to grab his hungover sibling by the collar. The reason being, there was no collar to grab, after all, he slept without a shirt—on cold days, he could even go pants-less. Also, Ur's last instructions when she left the house a few minutes ago was for the siblings not to fight. Ultear was gone on a business trip so Gray had one less potential assaulter on his tail.

"Yes, I might need to join her next." The younger male groaned, grabbing onto his head. He tried to remember what had happened the night before. After the girls left, he continued drinking. Normally, he would stop at his limit, a habit Juvia instilled in him when she decided that she did not want to drag him home by his legs anymore.

But the situation last night called for it.

"Are you not worried?"

Gray winced, holding onto his throbbing head. The afternoon sun assaulted his eyes through the half-closed window blinds. "I am but she doesn't even want to see Metalicana. What's even better is, she's mad at me. Look-," Gray paused in his talking, holding a hand over his mouth that threatened to spill vomit all over his floor.

"Classic, Gray, classic," Lyon said with sarcasm, hurriedly handing him the waste bin—they did not need another week of his room smelling like bloody vomit again.

The older male grimaced at the sight, watching his brother wipe his lips with the back of his hand. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed him off the bed and pushed the latter towards the bathroom in the hallway. Gray stumbled in, almost swiping off one of his sister's expensive powder palettes. The taste of bile rose at the back of his throat and he rushed to the toilet bowl, emptying out whatever that was haunting him from last night.

A groan left his mouth as he switched over to the sink, rinsing the taste of bile off his tongue.

"I don't get it. You like her, don't you?" Lyon leaned against the doorframe, ignoring the blatant distaste in his brother's eyes at his presence.

"Are you going to watch me pee?" Gray asked, irritated as he shoved his brother aside in order to close the door. "Who are you talking about anyways? If it's the ex we will not name anymore, just shut it."

A sigh of annoyance echoed in the hallway as Lyon's eyes trailed to one of the photo frames hung on the wall outside of Gray's room. It was a picture taken at Gray's high school graduation. He remembered being nervous about what he wore, even though it was not his graduation, his was long over two years back.

The picture was taken by their Mother who insisted all the 'children' should gather for another milestone photograph. He stood between Juvia and his brother, smugly looking at the camera while pulling them closer by the shoulders, playing the role of an overly proud older brother. Ultear was there too, jumping behind them while Gajeel was captured trying to pry off Lyon's hands from Juvia.

"I'm talking about Juvia, dumbass."

The toilet flushed, followed by the sound of the faucet running. Gray spoke over the noises as loud as he could with a toothbrush in his mouth. "You're the one who likes her." His sentence came out muffled but nonetheless, Lyon understood. Living with that idiot for his entire life paid off for situations like this.

_I liked her alright, I liked her for the longest time. _Lyon folded his arms and glanced at the ceiling, tracing the crown molding with his green eyes. _But she doesn't like me like she likes you. _

"Juvia has feelings for you dumbass, I don't stand a chance." At his words, he heard Gray spit in the bathroom.

"What are you talking about?" His voice sounded clearer without toothpaste clogging his mouth.

Annoyed, Lyon opened the door, disregarding Gray's shock. _He was at fault for not locking the door._ Holding back another sigh, the older male picked out one of the towels beneath the sink to throw at his brother's wet face. _Why did Juvia have to fall for a man as dense as Gray was? _

"She told you her feelings the other day." Lyon clicked his tongue again when Gray appeared confused, a dumb expression on his face. "The day she came over"

Gray recalled the incident. It was the day after the party, she had gone over with some delicious pie they had for dinner. They were watching a movie, and then he apologised some time in between. After that, Juvia had given him the straightest face she could muster, uttering the words of,_ "What if I said that I like you?"_

Even by memory, he felt his heart skip a beat. He figured it was a prank, there was no way Juvia would like him. They were best friends. Friends who knew each other since they were mere five-year-olds. He caught the corner of her lips shaking and assumed she was holding in laughter at his stunned reaction.

"She was joking around." Gray brushed it off, ignoring the small pinch tugging at his chest when he reiterated the words in his head. _Just a joke._

"You would be an idiot to think that. Oh wait, you are."

Gray gritted his teeth, ignoring the jabs from his brother. Lyon had begun his day getting on his nerves and Gray wondered if he could just put a gag in his brother's mouth to shut him up. "How would you know anyways, you were napping away on the couch."

"Only an idiot would think I was napping when Sebastian was singing 'Kiss the Girl'."

"What-?"

Lyon pushed himself off the doorframe, not bothering to explain, Gray would figure it out later on. "Metalicana called this morning. He said Juvia was doing fine, Mom had gone to see her. Before you kick up a fuss, he requested that only Ur went over to play it safe."

Sometimes, the easiest way to love someone was to let go and Lyon understood that, even without Ur's talk that evening about how he should let go.

He had little hope his feelings may be returned. Even when his actions were blatantly obvious about his intentions, Juvia had always kept a line, a line he could not cross. Her subtle rejections were sufficient to answer his unspoken words of confession.

He stared at his dumbstruck brother who was just realising the mistake he had made. Lyon wondered how he even had girlfriends in the past with how thick-headed his brother was—then he realised they broke up pretty quickly after forming a relationship, so that was not a mystery unsolved.

"Idiot. But," Lyon frowned, as if just realising something. "Why did Juvia end up in the hospital? Ur did not say anything, Metalicana was very brief on the phone…" He trailed off, hoping his brother might be able to solve the question in his head.

Gray's mouth parted and closed like a fish would, trying to form the words. The events from that day replayed in his head.

"_What if I said that I like you?" _

Her blue eyes, so deep and captivating like the ocean, he had not noticed then but there was sadness swirling within those beautiful orbs. Then, like a train wreck, everything seemed to crash on him. His actions hurt her, he thought of them in her point-of-view, aware of her feelings but unaware of his towards her, how hurt she must have been. Originally, he had thought of it as her being pissed as a best friend, but now that he knew exactly why, his heart hurt even more.

How much pain Juvia must've been in?

How much did she bear?

How long did she live with this?

Lyon was trying to get his attention but it was all muffled for him. Gray could not hear him, not when he was drowning in the overwhelming realisation. He felt dizzy for a moment but caught onto the corners of the sink, the cold marble bringing him back to reality.

"Gray, Gray!"

His brother was looking at him with a worried expression, one he had not seen since that one time Lyon tripped him on the sidewalk and Gray began to wail with his scraped knees.

Gray's eyes shifted to his brother slowly, his face drained of any colour, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"_It is a disease where the patient has flowers, plants, growing inside their lungs and heart. It stems from unrequited love."_

He was unable to believe the conclusion he had reached, how could he not know after all this time?

His lips parted once more, this time, an answer left his mouth.

"Hanahaki." The word echoed in the bathroom, bouncing around as if to taunt him, hammering into his head the answer he had been searching for less than twenty-four hours ago.

_Gray, you idiot._

—

"What do you want to eat, Juvia?" Metalicana asked. As soon as she was given the green light to be discharged the following day, Juvia wanted to leave as soon as possible, preferring the warmth of her bed than the cold, dull room of the hospital.

The girl whose eyes had been outside the window the whole time trailed to the small plastic bag that felt heavier than it should in her hands. In it were the prescribed medications given to her, the quantity enough to last for two weeks. Dr. Erika had mentioned to her that the earlier they scheduled the surgery, the better.

"Anything is fine," she replied in a slightly hoarse voice. After all the crying and another few incidents in the bathroom, her throat felt raw. When Ur came over the day before, she was comforted by her warm hug and bowl of chicken soup she had bought on the way. To her relief, Ur did not ask any questions, only mentioning that everyone was worried about her and that if she needed anyone to talk to her, her door was always open.

When Ur said that, Juvia wondered what she would say if she knew that Gray was partly the reason why she was in this situation, although, there was no one she could really blame other than herself for falling so deeply in love. It was her feelings, not anyone else's.

They drove into a drive-thru and Metalicana ordered some burgers and a hot soup for her. He said that she looked skinnier when they were at the hospital, so he added on a couple of chicken fingers to their orders. Juvia heard him order a cheeseburger without pickles for her brother that she remembered she had a fuming brother to appease at home. Not only that, but her friends too.

Her belongings and phone were at the lockers and according to her father, they had been brought back to their house by her roommate. Juvia would be lying if she said she did not feel one bit of guilt towards Lisanna. She knew Lisanna's temper and from how she reacted on Friday, Juvia could only sigh as she thought about how she would talk to her next.

A silence sat in the car as they waited for their orders and Metalicana spoke again, "I've never requested anything absurd from you children," he paused, thinking over his words. "But, Juvia, I hope you can keep the promises we agreed on yesterday." He glanced at her curled position on the passenger seat, her oversized sweater wrapped over her knees, something she did to keep herself warm in the car.

Juvia responded with a silent nod. Her decision the day before, as promised with her father, would change her current life more than it should.

The rest of the ride home was silent, apart from the soft music playing on the radio. Somewhere along the journey, she had fallen asleep, and when she awoke next, they had just pulled into the driveway.

Metalicana lifted the bags, adamant on not letting Juvia exert any effort on her own and although she would not admit it, she did feel weaker than usual after returning home.

"Go have your lunch then rest," Metalicana told her, nudging his head to the takeout bag while carrying a basket of dirty laundry past her. She grabbed her food before deciding to take her brother's portion upstairs as well.

Her eyes wandered to the room down the hall next to hers. Normally, she would hear him blasting off his favourite metal band and if not for the moving shadows visible through the gaps beneath the door, she would have thought the occupant was out with how quiet it was.

Just as she raised a fist to knock on the door, she took in a deep breath to brace herself for what might come her way. Growing up with Gajeel, she knew his temper well and if he wanted to yell at her, she would let him do so until he felt better.

"If you're my sister, I don't want to talk to you just yet." His gruff voice came through the thick wood. Juvia bit her lip, raising her hand to knock again. When there was no response, she knocked again, and again, and again. The process repeated for a few times before there was an annoyed grunt and the door swung open abruptly, "I said-,"

Juvia handed him the food, "You don't have to talk to me yet. Cheeseburger without pickles, your favourite, Dad also ordered saltless fries, they're piping hot." She offered, doing her best to try and smile but the attempt was futile when Gajeel simply took his lunch and shut the door behind him.

She had expected this reaction from her brother. There were not many occurrences where she pissed him off like this, apart from that one time she pestered him a lot about his love life.

Behind her, Metalicana approached, having seen the way his son reacted. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'll talk to him."

Juvia nodded and headed back to her room. Quietly, she ate while sitting at her desk with her knees hugged close to her chest. A while later, her burger was half-eaten and her soup was left untouched on her desk. Instead, her attention was on the dark clouds that were beginning to gather in the sky. An indication of the impending heavy rain.

She made an inaudible sigh and packed up the food on her desk. The last two days, she was given time to think and contemplate, yet she still found herself returning to the same thoughts.

One of them was her promise to move back home. Metalicana wanted her to stay where her family can keep an eye on her. He did not say it, but Juvia knows that some form of trust had been broken between them, no matter how little the break was.

Another was how she was going to explain everything to her friends.

She wondered if she should tell Meredy, give her an update of how she almost died.

And lastly, she wondered what she could say to Gray, because by now, she was sure he knew what happened to her.

Unable to figure them out all at once, Juvia changed out of her clothes into comfortable ones. A nap first, a nap would clear her head then she can figure out a plan.

—

Early that morning, Metalicana had found her sitting in the living room, staring at the family pictures they took one month after Juvia's adoption. She had not noticed her father walking into the room, completely absorbed into the memories of the past.

When she did notice him, she asked if they could go see Eliana.

The breeze tousled with her hair, the blue strands tangling with each other and Juvia knew she would regret not tying them up in a bun earlier. She trudged her way in the wet grass, the soil wet from the rain the night before. Behind her, Metalicana was making sure she would not fall, after all, she had just been discharged yesterday. He did not want her collapsing out of nowhere.

So there they were, walking towards Eliana's grave with a bouquet of daisies. This time, Juvia was the one holding the flowers. If she could, Juvia would have preferred going there alone, but after a medical declaration that she was unfit to drive by the doctor, she needed someone to take her there. Not to mention, her car was still at the dorms and she would need someone to drive it back in due time.

When they got closer, Metalicana kneeled for a moment in front of the wet tombstone, drying it with a handkerchief he brought with him that day. He turned to his daughter, knowing she wanted to be alone with his wife for a moment.

"I'll wait over there." He pointed to the entrance when they came in. It was far enough for him not to hear her talk but close enough for him to see if she needed help or felt unwell.

"Thanks, Dad."

He nodded and proceeded in the direction he stated.

Juvia handled the delicate bouquet in her hands carefully, placing it down. Her eyes lingered on the flowers before glancing up at the sky where the clouds refused to disperse even after a night of rain.

"Hey, Mom," she breathed out. "Usually, we don't come here more than twice a year, but here I am again." A humourless chuckle left her lips as she looked at the elegant cursive letterings, _Eliana Redfox._

Her mind thought back to Metalicana telling her a story about Eliana's past with him. It was at the hospital when he told her.

"_Your Mom had the same disease."_

_She had been shocked at the time. Eliana had Hanahaki? But she loved Metalicana, that much Juvia knew could not be a lie. Not when she saw her parents' interactions, not when Eliana knitted a simple scarf for her husband and fretted over how he might find it stuffy. How could she possibly have such a condition?_

_So, Metalicana told her a story, their love story. _

_During the last year of their high school, he had found out that Eliana had feelings for a guy whom she knew could never love her back and, like Juvia, she developed the disease. Metalicana liked Eliana back then and he thought he would be rejected so he waited till the end of prom to talk to her about his feelings. However, he did not expect to see her ejecting flowers from her system during that evening. _

_It was then that he found out that such a disease existed, that people grew flowers from the feelings they bottled up from an unfortunate event of unrequited love._

_He talked about how he made a promise with Eliana and that she would go for treatment when her feelings for that man disappeared and grew for him. It was difficult but he did his best to end up where they were now. _

"_But Mom, she-," Juvia stuttered. _

"_Complications. After your brother's birth, the aftereffects of the disease came back to haunt her." Metalicana's face darkened at the thought. "It was partly my fault."_

_He rubbed his face with a hand, "But Juvia, you have to know whatever decision you make right now is critical. The doctor gave you two weeks, but that can easily change into a few days."_

And he was right. When the doctor estimated a few months for her condition to deteriorate, the few months changed to a few weeks, what difference would it be for a mere two weeks?

"I promised Dad I'll go for the surgery." She lifted her head so the unshed tears would remain where they were as she confessed the burden that replaced the secrets she bore. Her father had been with her when they signed the papers, arranging for the furthest date they could for her.

"I'm scared, Mom." Her voice broke ever so softly, carried off in the breeze that teased her hair. Her hands gripped at her arms, digging nails into the soft cardigan over them. "I'm truly scared and afraid."

Afraid of the aftereffects of the surgery. Afraid of losing all memories of Gray. Afraid of losing her family if anything went wrong during the surgery. Afraid of what might happen if she decided to run away from treatment.

"_No one is strong 100% of the time, everyone has their own troubles and worries."_

_The orbs of the innocent children widened in shock, almost as if they had just realised such reality. She chuckled at their reactions. She was telling them the story of a hero who went through ups and downs. Expectations versus realities were hard for kids their age to comprehend. After all, it was a story unlike those they read in books or in the cartoons flashing on the television. It was one without the false impression that things will always go to plan._

"_But it's okay, such troubles will pass," she ruffled their hair gently, "If you fall, stand up, brush yourself off and carry on. If it hurts, rest. Rest until you feel well enough to move again."_

Her words replayed in her mind.

Juvia squeezed her hands. It seems that another decision has been made.

"_Thank you, Mom."_

—


	11. IX: No More Hiding

**It has been awhile since I updated so please check out the author's note at the end of this chapter! **

**Happy Reading!**

—

Over two days, Juvia had mainly stayed in her room unpacking boxes where her belongings from the dorm were stored. Gajeel was the one who accompanied her to do the move, although, the entire trip had been filled with an awkward silence as both siblings barely exchanged any words. During the move, Gajeel had done all the work requiring heavy lifting, which was pretty much everything apart from organizing the boxes.

Juvia had expected to see Lisanna there during the move but her roommate was nowhere in sight at the time. Not knowing what else she could do, Juvia left a note hoping Lisanna would give her a text so they could talk. It was the least she could do for causing the girl such distress after the whole incident.

After she was done with flattening the cardboard boxes, Juvia locked the door and changed out of her stuffy hoodie into a long-sleeved shirt. Her phone vibrated on the nightstand and albeit nervous, she picked up the device with hope that it might be her light-haired friend responding to her texts. Rather than her roommate whom she had been expecting a text from, it was the man who could be considered the root of her problem.

She held her breath, somewhat surprised that he had been the one to contact her first.

_Gray: Hey Juv, can we talk? Whenever is convenient for you, can we meet? 12.43pm. _

The words in his text echoed in her head and with each word she ran her eyes over, she felt her palms growing sweaty and her breathing got erratic. She had totally forgotten that he would've known and the fact that Gray was aware of it all, sent her stomach churning and she felt light-headed all of a sudden.

_There was no way he would not find out when such an incident had happened_, Juvia rationalized in her head, but it did nothing to stop the nervous feeling swirling at the bottom of her stomach.

"Juvia? Are you okay in there?" Her father called out and it snapped her out of her thoughts. Had he been knocking for long? She did not know, but judging by the panic growing in his tone, he must've been there for a while. Not trusting her voice to answer him, Juvia made a move to the door but stopped abruptly when her vision went blurry.

Blindly feeling for the table next to her for support, she knocked over a trophy she had left there earlier, causing the heavy object to fall against the wooden floor with a loud thud that resounded in her room.

Without so much of a warning, her locked door burst open and Juvia jumped in fright at the loud sound. Her brother was the first to enter, his red eyes filled with worry as he scanned her from head to toe. Behind, their father had the same look on his face.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Metalicana asked and Juvia nodded slowly, her eyes wide as she stared between the father-son pair and her broken door.

Letting out a sigh of relief, the older male turned and looked at the damaged wood plank that his son had practically tore off the walls from the sheer strength he used.

"What the hell were you doing?" Gajeel growled, no longer looking worried, instead, an angered expression took over his face. Still in shock, Juvia fumbled to find words to answer him.

"I-,"

"Why are you making us worry over you like this! Do you think it's funny?" He spat out. Behind him, Metalicana tried to step in but Gajeel carried on, the frustration he had bottled up for days poured out. "Why can't you just tell us if something is wrong? Why are you hiding things from us?"

He was breathing heavily and he continued, his voice less furious but rather, it was filled with fear as he remembered the day of the incident. "Do you have any idea how scared we were when we got the call? And when we got to the hospital, you didn't want us to see you? Do you have any idea how worried we were and to be denied visitation?"

Gajeel approached closer and from the shortened distance, Juvia could see something in his eyes that was glistening.

"Juvia! What exactly are you thinking? Why can't you tell us? We're family, aren't we?" He sounded exasperated at this point. "Do you not see us as your family anymore? Don't you trust us? What would we do if you really ended up dead that day and we were completely oblivious about it?" His voice cracked when he finished and Metalicana placed a hand on his shoulder, patting it firmly.

Juvia's lower lip trembled. The whole time she was caught up in her emotions and hiding things from her family, they were worrying about her. The whole time she was concerned about her problems with Gray, her father was there to lend a listening ear. The whole time she wanted them to not worry, her actions only made it worse. Why didn't she trust them with her problems?

"I'm sorry." The words shook as they left her.

She had not expected things to end up that way, even when she chose to hide her condition. The unspoken worry she had now placed on her family are consequences of what she had hid from them.

A warmth wrapped around her head and Juvia found herself hiding her face into Metalicana's shirt. "I said I wasn't mad but I too was wondering the same as Gajeel. Family don't hide things from each other."

Juvia sniffled, covering her face with her hands as she bobbed her head in her father's arms.

"Shit, don't cry!"

Her brother sounded slightly panicked and his cracked voice caused her to giggle. Juvia pulled away from Metalicana and wrapped her arms around her big brother. The latter froze at the action and she thought he might pull away but was relieved when he returned the gesture. Tipping on her toes, she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Stupid. Don't hide things from us and get us worried again."

"I promise." She released him from her hug and wiped the tears off her face. Looking at her brother's face, she could not help but let out a laugh at the reddish rim around his red irises. "Gajeel, were you crying?"

He nudged her with his elbow softly, running a hand over his face, "Shut up."

A sigh from their father turned both heads towards him. The man eyed the broken door that was hanging dangerously by its lower hinges. He tapped his son's shoulder with a pointed look.

"Fix it." Then he headed back downstairs but not before smiling at his two children who are on speaking terms now.

Giggling at her groaning brother who dragged his feet to his room to get a toolbox, Juvia moved towards the broken door, examining it when her phone buzzed again, letting her know of the unread notification.

She stared at the text and she was at a loss as to what would be a good reply. It was a situation she can no longer avoid. But how she wished she could just ignore it and pretend it never happened. An escape from our problems by simply ignoring it, but Juvia had learnt the hard way that hiding from the actual problem can make things worse.

"Who is that?" Gajeel set down the heavy toolbox on the ground, eyeing the little device being held by Juvia. He noticed how she was staring at it in a dilemma and took a step closer, asking in silence about who it was.

Chewing on her lower lip, Juvia contemplated lying. There was a possibility the moment she told him the truth, he would not march down the stairs and kick down the door of their neighbour's. Although, she was not sure if he did do so that Gray would be there. It was still a weekday and Gray would only be home from time to time unlike her weekend routine. But Juvia knew lying would be taking a step back from what she had promised her family. She would no longer hide things from them.

"It's Gray," her voice came out weird, likely from her forcing herself to speak after a dilemma. She glanced at her brother, watching his expression; she was ready to stand and pull him back if he decided to grab the wrench in his hand and go hunting for the raven-haired male.

To her surprise, instead of stomping off like she would expect, Gajeel took a sharp intake of breath before he turned away and started working on the broken hinges of the door. For a brief moment, only the sound of metal scraping against metal filled the room.

"You still have to tell that stripper, don't ya," he asked, keeping his back to her. "Levy said he was all panicked and crap when he found out. You should talk to him."

Hearing that from her overprotective brother, Juvia could not help but wonder if the Gajeel in front of her was a decoy sent by aliens.

"But that does not mean you are going to kiss him and shit, true love's kiss can't fix this!" Gajeel twisted the wrench and it sent the door swinging backwards, hitting the wall with a sharp thud.

From a far distance, Metalicana was peeking up the stairs, cocking a brow at the loud thud he just heard.

With a bitter chuckle, Juvia shook her head, "That won't happen."

"Are you dense, Juvia?" Gajeel looked at her as if she had a screw loose. "That is Gray Fullbuster."

Confused by what he meant, Juvia stared at him blankly, "Yes, he is Gray Fullbuster, the last time I checked anyways."

The man rolled his eyes and hit her forehead gently with his free hand. "Don't do or don't not do things you'll regret. Whether you remember it or not."

Juvia held in a sigh at being reminded of the side-effects from the surgery she was scheduled for was common in other patients according to the doctor. Gajeel must have found out through their father when he told him of what would happen next.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy and Juvia grabbed his palm, wrapping her fingers around his huge hand. It reminded her of the first time she met Gajeel, when he dragged her by the hand, telling Metalicana she was his sister. The very same hand that held onto hers when she was still navigating her way through the strange world outside of her orphanage.

"I won't forget you guys," she says, trying to peek at her brother's face that was now facing the other direction. "Don't cry, you'll make me cry too."

"I'm not crying, stupid."

Juvia chuckled as he released her hand and left her room, forgetting his toolbox by her half-fixed door.

"Gajeel, my door!" She yelled after him, knowing he had gone back to his room to hide so she could not see his teary face.

"I'll fix it later, damn it!"

The laughter ceased on her lips and Juvia was looking at her phone again.

_I made this mess for myself; it is time to pick up the pieces and clean it up. _

—

At Rae's, a popular café for the students studying near the area, a young man can be seen sitting impatiently by the window. His right leg bounced uncontrollably while he took another sip of his iced coffee, waiting for a familiar blur of blue to enter his line of sight.

He was anxious to see her and at the same time, he did not know what to say to her when she arrived.

Picking up his phone, he checked the last text she had sent him yesterday.

_Juvia: let's meet for brunch, the usual place. 13.01pm. _

It would be an understatement to say he was simply nervous. He wanted to tell her everything that happened, he still needed to explain himself. But if Juvia did not believe him, he did not know what else he could do to make up for it. And these budding feelings inside of him, how was he to tell her that?

Engrossed in his thoughts, he had not noticed his best friend approaching his seat with hesitant steps. His phone turned dark again and he pushed the button to see the time. The wallpaper on his phone was something he had never changed over the years and it was one of the beaches they had gone together in the past. His exes had never noticed but there was always a glimpse of blue hair at the corner of the screen, a reminder of how close they had been when he took that picture.

"Hey," Juvia squeaked, clearing her throat right after in embarrassment. She had been standing there for a moment but he was fixated on his phone.

Caught off guard, Gray fumbled with his phone, dropping it on the floor in the process. Seeing that, both hands reached down to pick it up and coincidentally, both hands touched and pulled away as though a shock had gone through them.

Hurriedly, Gray grabbed his device and mumbled a word of thanks as he redirected his attention towards her. Doing that, he found himself caught in a trance. He wondered if it was possible for Juvia to look that beautiful after just being discharged a few days ago from the hospital. She was wearing a light-blue blouse with frills around them, paired with skinny jeans. Her beautiful locks were tied up in a half-up hair do and she had on a butterfly clip he bought for her.

Juvia sat down quickly, her cheeks warm as she tried to avoid his stare. The man coughed, realizing what he had just been doing and the atmosphere between them was uncharacteristically awkward. They had been best friends that were joined at the hip and these types of situations only happened when they made up over an argument.

At the same time, a server came over the two plates of Caramade franks and a chocolate milkshake that Gray had ordered before Juvia arrived. With robotic-like actions, Gray gently pushed the beverage over to the girl, feeling shy for some reason as he muttered that he bought what she usually ordered.

Juvia nodded, trying to fan her hot cheeks discreetly with her hands and she brushed it off at the weather being especially warm that day. So, they sat across each other, looking anywhere but the other's eyes.

Thinking it was too uncomfortable to continue like this, Juvia started off the conversation.

"I-,"

"I-."

Wide-eyed, both of them stared at each other before erupting into soft laughter. If anyone else were to see the entire situation, they would think this two were a couple who had just started dating.

"You go first," Gray gestured, taking another mouthful of his bitter coffee while his eyes flickered between her and the window outside so he did not stare at her for too long.

"You heard of what happened, didn't you?" She asked, chewing the inside of her cheek as she looked away from him to the sweet dessert set in front of them.

To her question, Gray responded with a nod.

"And you know why?" She added, observing his reaction. She wanted a closure to what she felt for him; it would be easier for her to go under the knife without regretting about not telling him about her feelings.

Again, Gray nodded and Juvia squeezed her palm. Her chest felt tight and she breathed slowly to make the pain go away. The medicine she had taken had aided with her condition this much, but she could tell that she would not be able to depend on it for a long time.

"When did it begin?" Gray asked, meeting her blue orbs that he could get lost in forever for they resembled the deep ocean. "Y-your feelings, I mean," he corrected himself when she frowned and tilted her head in confusion as to what he was referring to.

Pursing her lips, the girl leaned back against her seat and hugged her arms.

"I can't tell you specifically when, it may have been as early as high school, or even before that." When he heard that, Gray's lips parted in shock but Juvia gave him a soft chuckle, hoping to ease the tension between them.

"I didn't know, I never did. Why didn't you tell me?" He frowned.

Juvia smiled sadly, "Have you ever heard of best friends falling in love with each other?"

Gray could only stare at her, unable to answer her question. He had never heard of stories like that, best friends tend to stay best friends forever till the end of time or until one of them decided to break off the friendship. Where did love come in that equation? Do both of them realise their attraction before it is too late?

"If I told you, you would've rejected me and that would be awkward wouldn't it, considering we live right next to each other and knew each other for a majority of our lives." She tapped a finger on the table, propping up her chin with the other hand. Her eyes ran over the Caramade franks that were dripping with sticky caramel sauce. "But I too wasn't sure of what I was supposed to do," she confessed, thinking back to her dilemmas. "You had your problems too."

Being reminded of his ugly breakup, Gray shook his head. "How were you so sure I would reject you?"

This time, it was Juvia's turn to be caught off guard. She blinked at him and let out a nervous laugh, "You had just started dating that girl, why would I-?"

"I dated her because I was unsure of what to do with the feelings which I recently realised I had for you."

His abrupt confession made her unsure of how to react. It sounded unreal to her, for Gray to like her in that sense that was more than just normal friends. She searched his face for any trace of lie, perhaps he was just saying that to make her feel better, perhaps he was just talking nonsense because Gray was bad with talking about feelings. Perhaps—

"I am not saying this out of guilt," he stated, knowing what she might be thinking after what he had just placed out on the table for her to digest. He was also well-aware of his skin that was flushing with heat, feeling uncomfortable with baring his inner thoughts.

He glanced around the café that was starting to become crowded with its patrons. "Let's go somewhere else to talk."

Juvia nodded after looking around like he did.

They asked for the food to be packed in a takeout box and Gray led Juvia to his motorcycle that was parked by the side of the road. He handed her a spare helmet kept at the back of his vehicle.

Juvia reached up to remove the clip holding up her hair. A yelp of pain came from her when the locks got caught. Hearing her distress, Gray immediately had his attention on her.

"Help?" She winced.

Reaching towards her hair, his hands trembled ever so slightly as he untangled the strands from the clip. Her hair felt soft against his skin and he was reminded of the time when they were younger. He had asked to touch her hair then, because he was so curious what it would feel like due to its unique colour. Lost in thought, his cold fingers grazed her hot cheeks in a spur of the moment. Surprised by his actions, Gray removed his hand and slid down the visor over her face.

"I- I thought you might've forgotten how to put on the helmet. It has been a while since you last rode with me," he stuttered and went to get his headgear.

Seeing this side of him for the first time, Juvia could not help but smile. She held back the urge to tease, seeing the tips of his ears growing red once again. They were hidden from her sight when he quickly put on his helmet. For such reasons, she found something warm flourishing over her bosom. Was this what it felt like to know someone liked you the way you liked them?

She climbed on behind him, very conscious of how close they were. Before all this happened, she would've thought it was very normal of how close they were, but now, it felt different. She placed her hands on his shoulders, feeling how tense they were and decided it would not be wise to lean up against him like she usually did.

Juvia waited for Gray to start the engine, however, he surprised her when he used one hand to pull hers around his torso. "Grab on tight, I don't want you falling off."

She nodded and did as told. Feeling embarrassed she hid her face into his back, not knowing the man was also having the same reaction to what he had just said.

—

It was in the late afternoon when they pulled up at the beach. A half hour drive from town, the beach was sparsely crowded on a weekday. Juvia texted Gajeel where they had gone, reassuring him that she would be fine with Gray there.

After Gray had parked, the two walked towards a quiet part of the beach. Eventually, they found themselves walking on the stone path where the gentle waves lapped at the saltwater-chipped rocks.

Juvia rubbed her hands over her bare arms, feeling chilly from the strong winds. Out of nowhere, she felt warmth wrapped around her back and saw Gray standing behind her, his outer shirt was placed around her shoulder.

"Thank you," she said gratefully to him, slipping her hands through the long sleeves, taking in comfort the slight warmth it provided from his body heat. His scent on the clothing made it harder for her to ignore that fact and Juvia pulled it tighter around her in a subtle manner.

The pair sat on the ground in silence and Juvia watched the waters go back and forth, the foam at the edge of the waves would appear and disappear with every movement. Being caught in the trance of staring at the water, Juvia had almost forgotten the reason they were there in the first place. It was sparsely crowded, the area they had gone to were absent of any other beach-goers. Other than the sound of the waters crashing on the rocks, it was purely quiet for the two who needed to talk in private.

"I admit," Gray started out of the blue. It was awkward and abrupt. He had never spoken out about what he felt so openly before. When she gave him her full attention, he swallowed the lump in his throat. He could barely remember the last time they had a conversation as serious as this if he did not count the one at the café just an hour ago. Yet, he knew he had to say it right there and then. "I haven't been the best friend in the past months. But I was serious when I said I felt something for you and it is not just friendship that is making me feel that way."

Regardless of how much he was feeling embarrassed, he made sure to get his point across. His neck was flaring red but he pushed through.

"Gray, I-."

"No, no, let me finish. I still have things I need to clear up and explain to you." He breathed out, tugging at the collar of his t-shirt. "Those things I've said, the ones where I was mean and rude, I didn't mean it that way. It was dumb and stupid for me to say that because I did not know how the way I phrased it was weird-," he rambled and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"What happened that night…" Gray held in a groan and explained the whole situation from that night once again.

As he got to the part where he told her to leave, Juvia found herself recalling the entire incident from that night, from when they got to the party to when she left it feeling extremely dejected.

"…So, we broke up. I wanted to look for you but I was preoccupied with my self-pity and stuck myself in the room drinking all of Natsu's beer stash." Juvia gave him a look when he mentioned the last part. He responded with a sheepish smile and continued, "When I gotten to my senses, I couldn't contact you, you had gone back home and it was Eliana's anniversary and I was so invested in myself that I forgot such an important date."

She shook her head. "You don't have to remember-,"

"No, I do. It's an important date to you and it should be to me as well. Eliana was a wonderful woman even for the short period of time that I knew her. I should've been more sensitive about it." He combed through his hair again, the wind disheveling his efforts to style it that morning. "I'm sorry."

The way he was looking at her was genuine and earnest, and though Juvia was not bothered about the fact he had forgotten, seeing as how it had bothered him.

"And, I was serious about what I said earlier."

His dark eyes were staring right into her blue orbs and Juvia felt herself pulling back, feeling slightly intimidated by how close they were all of a sudden.

She placed a hand on his chest to put distance between them.

"Gray, if you're saying this to make me feel better, it would be better if you never said it at all," she said, turning her head away when her eyes felt the sting and she blamed it on the wind. If he had to lie to her, she would rather not hear it.

Abruptly, he grabbed her hand so she would face him once again. Rather than the man who was always distant and cold to others, she had seen his other side, the side whom only his closest friends would know. One that was vulnerable to emotions and the one he was baring out for her right now.

"I'm not saying this for the sake of saying it. I'm telling you that I have feelings for you!" He yelled, and his cheeks were tinted red. Juvia noticed something glimmering in his eyes and felt alarmed as she hesitated reaching up for his face. "Shit, Juvia!"

His nose was turning red and she was at a loss as to what she could do to resolve the pain evident on his face. "I was so worried when the others called me saying you were in the hospital! A million thoughts went through my mind about what would happen if you were really gone, what would I do, how will I live on without you," his voice cracked slightly and he pressed his forehead against the back of her hand. "I do like you. I like you so much that I did not even realise it was to this point where I'm worried that I'll lose you."

Her hand felt warm; there was something hot rolling off her skin. She caught a liquid drop falling onto the ground they were sitting on.

"Juvia, I can't lose you. I can't lose you because I love you."

His confession was so soft that if the wind were any stronger, she would not hear a thing.

Gray removed his head from her hand, watching her, unsure of what she might respond to him.

Hesitantly, she placed a finger shakily beneath his eye, using her thumb to wipe away the stray tear that ran down his face. She had not realise she too was crying until he caught a tear that rolled down her cheek. If anyone were to see them, there would surely be many questions as to why two grown adults were crying together.

"I can't lose you. I'm serious." His voice was filled with so much desperation and sincerity that Juvia had to bite down on her lower lip to stop the ugly sobbing sound she so badly wanted to let out.

He told her his feelings. He loves her. He loves her! She should be happy; she should be jumping for joy. She should be everything but crying.

_It's too late. _

The truth was painful for her to even acknowledge on her own. How could she tell him that?

He held a palm to her cheek, searching her blue eyes for any kind of indication that she was doubtful about him. He knew he was looking at her with so much hope despite the fact that she had developed a disease because of how much she loved him.

For a moment, the two only stared into each other's eyes for the longest time. Blue melding into black and it was like the world had disappeared around them. If time could pause, Juvia wanted it to stop right there. It felt unreal and at the same time, she wanted it to be unreal as_—_

"—it's too late."

"W-What?"

She removed his hand where it touched her skin and held it down on his lap. As calm as she could muster her voice to be, Juvia gave him the cruelest truth that she wished she never had to tell him.

"I am going for the surgery." She told him and his confused expression was enough for her to know that he was clueless about what surgery does. "When someone with Hanahaki go for surgery, they remove the roots in the lungs. Removing the roots, removes the feelings and memories they have of that person."

"Juvia, what-?" His mouth parted and closed, unable to make sense of what he was being told.

"The roots inside here," she touched her chest where the said matter was, "They have grown too far for me to recover on my own. The surgery is set for in less than two weeks."

"No," Gray shook his head, in disbelief. All this time, he thought they might be able to resolve this with his confession. He read it up online, if the person they loved returned their feelings, they would recover. So, what was Juvia talking about?

Trying to wrap his head around the truth, Gray was at a loss. "You'll forget me?"

The words were even harder to accept when he said it out loud. After the surgery, Juvia would be like a stranger, no, to her, he would be a stranger she never knew. Juvia's face crumpled and she covered her hands over it so he could not see her that way. It hurt more than ever to repeat the facts out to herself and to him, and it hurt even more to see him like that.

Perhaps it was better if he never knew. Perhaps she should've just gone for treatment in the beginning without telling anyone. Perhaps-

_No. It was too late to be thinking about that._

—

On their way back, Juvia had unconsciously wrapped her arms tightly around his torso. She buried her face into his back, recalling the expressions on his face when she told him earlier. They had both been silent when they got onto the vehicle after he said that he would take her home.

Maybe it was fate that they weren't made for each other, she thought to herself.

To be honest, she was still shocked that he felt that way towards her. Was she just that dense or was it Gray who was dense? Were the two of them that dumb to not realise that part about each other?

_It's too late._

Even if he knew, it was too late. She cannot take any detours after proceeding this far on the path she chose. Maybe after today, they should cut off all contacts, she thought. It would be better to do it that way than for her to wake up from being cut open to not know who Gray is.

Just thinking about it made her nose burn and Juvia chewed on her lower lip, shutting her eyes as she took in a deep breath.

_It's too late._

She lifted her head and turned so she could see where they were. The sky was no longer bright like it was earlier, the sun was setting and the blue sky was dyed in orange and red. The passing vehicles and the hum of the engine lulled her to sleep and before she knew it, her eyes were closing on their own and she felt a warm hand holding onto both of hers tightly.

—

***Author's note***

**It has been a while since my last update! How was this chapter? I have been struggling to write this chapter and I hope it wasn't too much or too lacking. I do think both of them are OOC here but it is what I've wrote them into, so I hope it isn't too weird.**

**Also, some of you may notice I had uploaded similar chapters before as 'new'. That is because, I have been editing chapters 1-3 during that time and also added contents to chapter 3. This resulted in the need to divide chapter 3 as it would be too long. I would highly suggest rereading from the start when I am done with editing all chapters. As of now, I have finished editing chapter 4 and am staring on editing chapter 5 soon. There isn't too much of difference in the storyline from my editing in chapter 3, but I have added a little more details to our little Panther Lily inside. **

**Once again, thank you for reading and please do leave me a review/comment if you liked it 3**

**Stay safe and remember to wear a mask when you go out!**

**Love, **

**Smiles: )**


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